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The Africa eCommerce Week: Empowering African Economies in the Digital Era was organised from 10 - 14 December 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the African Union, and the European Union, and hosted by the Government of Kenya. The outcome of the event is the Nairobi Manifesto on the Digital Economy and Inclusive Development in Africa which pinpoints a number of policy recommendations required for digital economy to bring inclusive and sustainable development to Africa and eschew wider inequalities and divides. The Manifesto further underlines how the engagement of all segments of society is significant for e-commerce to make a real and sustained contribution to development. To this aim, cross-cutting policy actions and new public - private partnerships are necessary alongside quality research and statistics to inform such policy actions.

In the 2018 Singles’ Day sales in China, 60.3% of online customers paid using biometric recognition technology, instead of inputting payment passwords. They did so either by scanning their fingerprint or taking a selfie, according to Alipay. The acceptance of biometric identification is advancing fast: in 2016, around 95 percent of the people surveyed by China’s Payment and Clearing Association said they “knew about” fingerprint recognition. Now Alipay and WeChat Pay are both are racing towards a future of seamless payment.

Leaders from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) met in Singapore in the margins of the 33rd ASEAN Summit. A joint statement indicated that the RCEP talks “have advanced to the final stage of the negotiations,” but mentioned that the deal will not be completed this year, as initially expected. They welcomed the conclusion of seven chapters out of the overall accord “on economic and technical cooperation, small and medium-sized enterprises, customs procedures and trade facilitation, government procurement, institutional provisions, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures.” They also referred to the need for dealing with remaining gaps on market access. RCEP would be composed by the 10 countries of ASEAN together with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

The summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place in Singapore under the theme “Resilient and Innovative.” The regional bloc comprises 10 Southeast countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The highlights of the meeting were the negotiations on a new ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA), designed to help achieving “free flow of trade in services within the region” and the signature of the ASEAN Agreement on e-commerce. Taken together, the approval of ATISA, the amendment to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) form a complete trio of modern and comprehensive ASEAN agreements, according to the bloc’s Economic Ministers”.

On the sidelines of the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore, the Economic Ministers of the delegate countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on e-Commerce, which is part of the implementation of the ASEAN Work Programme on Electronic Commerce 2017-2025. The agreement aims to facilitate cross-border e-commerce transactions and promote confidence in the use of e-commerce in the region to drive economic growth and social development. It comprises commitments on the fields of cybersecurity, data localization and data flows, ensuring that companies and consumers can easily access and move data across borders, without the need to “build expensive and unnecessarily redundant data centres in every market”. The agreement also contains provisions on online consumer protection, personal data protection alternative online dispute resolution mechanisms for e-commerce transactions. In parallel, the ASEAN summit also welcomed the endorsement of the ASEAN Digital Integration Framework, which identifies the economic benefits and challenges posed by digital integration for ASEAN and its Member States, with particular attention to MSMEs.

On 2 November 2018, theDelhi High Court held online marketplaceDarvey.com liable for selling allegedly counterfeit Christian Louboutin products. The plaintiff claimed intellectual property rights, considering the platform used the name and image of Louboutin as meta-tags to attract traffic on their platform. Darvey.com claimed that they do not sell any product, but merely enablebooking of orders through their online platform. The ruling of the court observed that when an e-commerce platform is commissioned over unlawful acts, it is no longer a mere passive transmitter or online intermediary. In the same ruling, the court required Darveys.com to present the contact information of all sellers; request certificates from sellers that their products are not counterfeits; and to notify trademark owners before having products available on the platform. The case set a relevant precedent to make clear the extent of safe-harbour possibilities under theInformation Technology Act. Since the Baazee.com case-related to the sale of obscene videos, e-commerce businesses have denied liability for products uploaded by users.

E-commerce has been one of the main engines promoting the growth of the Internet over the past 15 years. The importance of e-commerce is illustrated by the title of the document that initiated the reform of Internet governance and established ICANN: the 1997 Framework for Global Electronic Commerce, which states that ‘the private sector should lead’ the Internet governance process and that the main function of this governance will be to ‘enforce a predictable, minimalist, consistent, and simple legal environment for commerce’. These principles are the foundation of the ICANN-based Internet governance regime.

The choice of a definition for e-commerce has many practical and legal implications. Specific rules are applied depending on whether a particular transaction is classified as e-commerce, such as those regulating taxation and customs.

For the US government, the key element distinguishing traditional commerce from e-commerce is the online commitment to selling goods or services. This means that any commercial deal concluded online should be considered an e-commerce transaction, even if the realisation of the deal involves physical delivery. For example, purchasing a book via Amazon.com is considered an e-commerce transaction even though the book is usually delivered via traditional mail. The WTO defines e-commerce more precisely as: ‘the production, distribution, marketing, sale, or delivery of goods and services by electronic means’. The EU approach to e-commerce deals with ‘information society services’ that cover ‘any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by means of electronic equipment for the processing (including digital compression) and storage of data, and at the individual request of a recipient of a service’.

The WTO and e-commerce

As the key policy player in modern global trade, the WTO has established a system of agreements regulating international trade. The major treaties are the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) dealing with the trade in goods, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Within this framework, the WTO regulates many relevant e-commerce issues, including telecommunication liberalisation, IPR, and some aspects of ICT development.

Although e-commerce has been on the WTO’s diplomatic back-burner, various initiatives have arisen and a number of key issues have been identified.

Other international e-commerce initiatives

One of the most successful and widely supported international initiatives in the field of e-commerce is the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce. The focus of the Model Law is on mechanisms for the integration of e-commerce with traditional commercial law (e.g. recognising the validity of electronic documents). The Model Law has been used as the basis for e-commerce regulation in many countries.

Another initiative designed to develop e-commerce is the introduction of e-business XML (ebXML) by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/123 CEFACT).

The OECD’s activities touch on various aspects related to e-commerce, including consumer protection and digital signatures. The OECD emphasises promotion and research regarding e-commerce through its recommendations and guidelines.

UNCTAD is particularly active in research and capacity-building, focusing on the relevance of e-commerce to development. Every year it monitors the evolution of the information economy in a report which assesses the role of new technologies in trade and development.

In the business sector, the most active international organisations are the International Chamber of Commerce, which produces a wide range of recommendations and analyses in the field of e-commerce; and the Global Business Dialogue, which promotes e-commerce in both the international and the national context.

Regional initiatives

The EU developed an e-commerce strategy at the so-called Dot Com Summit of EU leaders in Lisbon (March 2000). Although it embraced a private and market-centred approach to e-commerce, the EU also introduced a few corrective measures aimed at protecting public and social interests (the promotion of universal access, a competition policy involving consideration of the public interest, and a restriction in the distribution of harmful content).

The EU adopted the Directive on Electronic Commerce as well as a set of other directives related to electronic signatures, data protection, and electronic financial transactions. In the Asia-Pacific region, the focal point of e-commerce co-operation is the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC). APEC established the E-Commerce Steering Group, which addresses various e-commerce issues, including consumer protection, data protection, spam, and cybersecurity. The most prominent initiative is APEC’s Paperless Trading Individual Action Plan, which aims to create paperless systems in cross-border trade.

Actors

UNECE, through its subsidiary body CEFACT, has been involved, together with the Organization for the Advanceme

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UNECE, through its subsidiary body CEFACT, has been involved, together with the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, in the development of the Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML) standard. ebXML contains specifications which enable enterprises around the world to conduct business over the Internet, as it provides a standard method to exchange business messages, conduct trading relationship, communicate data in common terms, and define and register business processes.

Within the framework of its Digital Economy and Society initiative, WEF has launched the

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Within the framework of its Digital Economy and Society initiative, WEF has launched the Internet for All project, aimed at bringing online tens of millions of Internet users by the end of 2019, initially through programmes targeted at the Northern Corridor in Africa, Argentina, and India. In addition to this project, WEF also undertakes research on Internet-access-related issues. One notable example is the annual Global Information Technology Report and the related Networked Readiness Index, which measures, among others, the rates of Internet deployment worldwide. Internet access and the digital divide are also addressed in the framework of various WEF initiatives such as its annual meetings and regional events.

The WTOâs involvement in e-commerce-related issues started in 1998, when the Ministerial Conference adopted th

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The WTOâs involvement in e-commerce-related issues started in 1998, when the Ministerial Conference adopted the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce, which called for the development of a work programme on e-commerce. The programme, also adopted in 1998, provides a definition for e-commerce and sets out responsibilities for WTO bodies in e-commerce-related areas. Other e-commerce-related initiatives undertaken by the WTO include: a moratorium rendering electronic transmissions free of custom duties among WTO member states; a dispute resolution mechanism which addresses, among others, cases involving electronic transactions; and the annual WTO Public Forum. There are ongoing discussions among WTO member states as to whether the organisation should play an increasing role in eâcommerce.

ITCâs activities in the area of e-commerce are focused on assisting enterprises, in particular small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in acquiring the necessary skills and capabilities to trade on e-commerce channels. It has developed an e-Solutions Programme, which provides enterprises with access to a platform of shared technologies and services, including access to international payment solutions and logistics. A Virtual Market Place project aims to strengthen the skills of SMEs in the Middle East and North Africa region to effectively use new technologies to enhance their visibility on international markets. The Centre also offers e-learning programmes and produces publications related to e-commerce.

Convergence is one of the digital policy issues that the OECD is paying attention to, especially in relation t

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Convergence is one of the digital policy issues that the OECD is paying attention to, especially in relation to the challenges this phenomenon brings on traditional markets, and the need for adequate policy and regulatory frameworks to address them. In 2008, the organisation issued a set of policy guidelines for regulators to take into account when addressing challenges posed by convergence. In 2016, a report issued in preparation for the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy included new recommendations for policy-makers. Digital convergence issues have been on the agenda of OECD Ministerial meetings since 2008, and are also tackled in the regular OECD Digital Economy Outlook report.

ICC engages in the WTO particularly representing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In 2016 ICC issued a report calling for a new WTO agreement on e-commerce. ICCâs objective is to have an e-commerce framework that is more open to MSMEs. The report recommends three main actions: a capacity building fund for SMEs; making trade more efficient for SME for instance through harmonised tariffs for low value items; and global rules to support consumer trust in the digital economy. ICC has also carried out research on trans-border data flows.

Resolutions & Declarations

The second World Internet Conference (WIC) - the Wuzhen Summit was held on 16-18 December 2015 with the theme 'An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All'. Pursuant to discussions at the High-Level Advisory Council (HAC), the WIC Organising Committee proposed an Initiative outlining the following issues: promotion of Internet deployment and development, fostering cultural diversity in the cyberspace, sharing the fruits of Internet development, ensuring peace and security in cyberspace, and improving the global Internet governance.

Adopted by Council of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa in 2010, the model law contains provisions on: electronic signatures, e-commerce, consumer protection, unsolicited commercial commynications, and online dispute resolution. The model law is accompanied by a guide to enactment, meant to assist member states in deciding which of the model law's provisions could/should be transposed into national legislation.

Resources

The session was moderated by Ms Nadira Bayat (Programme Director, Global Economic Governace (GEG) Africa), who started by stating that digital trade is growing very fast, expanding businesses, and empowering women. However, this growth has a lower impact for women, as they are not fully benefiting from the Internet. She stated the need to examine the approach of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) in balancing human rights values and digital trade. Bayat underlined that human rights principles are very important in addressing issues related to information and communication technologies (ICTs), and the access to ICTs by women and youth.

Ms Peggy Hicks (Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)) started her presentation by asking: What is the link between human rights and digital trade? She explained that the relationship between technology and trade is essential for the development of countries. There are many opportunities in digital trade, however, one of the big tensions is the lack of regulation in digital trade. According to Hicks, governments are not fully prepared to take on the new challenges of digital trade, while allowing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to do global business. She said that Africa needs to look at the models of best practices of developed countries, and to try to do better in moving towards effective regulation of digital trade. Hicks said that as a society, we need to invest in technology, and that 25% of African countries are working on increasing Internet access to tackle the digital divide. She emphasised the importance of technological investments, and access to jobs through digital materials. In addition, she gave the example of mobile payment system M-pesa in Kenya, that empowers women to do business.

Mr David Luke (Director and Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre at the Economic Commission for Africa)highlighted the work of the African group in the World Trade Organization (WTO). He said that the African Union (AU) is cautious about the work done in the e-commerce programme.

He talked about the conference on digital economy, organised in July 2018, in Nairobi, Kenya. He gave national examples on supporting digital trade in countries such as the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Rwanda, and South Africa. These countries are developing competitiveness of technical skills in digital trade. He pointed to Rwanda as a good example in helping and engaging youth in hub technology in order to tackle the digital divide.

Luke also said that there is no consensus on e-commerce policy issues between the member states of the AU. He pointed to the role of AfCTA, signed last March in Kigali, Rwanda, to help the continent deal with digital trade issues. He said that the agreement will cover goods, services, payment issues, and more. According to Luke, the gender divide needs to be examined carefully in order to develop ICT competences of women. He mentioned the lack of data regarding trade-related issues that women in business face.

Ms Ololade Shyllon (Human rights lawyer, and Head of Democracy, Transparency and Digital Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa) clarified the legal issues related to digital trade. She talked about hard laws and soft laws, and explained that African countries adopted an agreement on data protection in 2014. However, according to her, many of the countries are not ready to ratify the agreement due to challenges in privacy, data protection, and data localisation, among others.

Shyllon highlighted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). She mentioned that digital trade brings many opportunities, but that we also need to pay attention to the lack of digital skills in Africa. According to her, African countries are faced with challenges related to digital literacy, and language barriers while using the Internet.

The moderator concluded the session with remarks on the huge role of human rights in empowering women in the digital trade. She said that technology and human rights are not separate topics.

Article explaining the state of current law and how policymakers could approach taxing online, digital activity. It focuses on Internet tax moratorium, multiple and discriminatory taxes of digital goods, discriminatory taxes on wireless services and the collection of sales taxes for online purchases of products.

Publications

The latest edition of glossary, compiled by DiploFoundation, contains explanations of over 130 acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations used in IG parlance. In addition to the complete term, most entries include a concise explanation and a link for further information.

The book, now in its sixth edition, provides a comprehensive overview of the main issues and actors in the field of Internet governance and digital policy through a practical framework for analysis, discussion, and resolution of significant issues. It has been translated into many languages.

Papers

The paper, addressed to organisations that collect, store, or make use of personal data related to Russian citizens, outlines a series of recommendations on how to comply with the existing Russian legislation in this field, taking into account legal, organisational, and commercial aspects.

The paper provides an overview of policies and programmes that could contribute to overcoming the barriers to e-commerce and accelerating the developing nations’ transition to the digital era and e-commerce.

Report on the implications of technological and economic convergence for the regulation of the digital ecosystem. The report focuses on six areas of regulatory policy: access regulation, barriers to entry and exit, privacy and data protection, merger review, spectrum management, and universal availability and access

The Global Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade was conducted by the United Nations regional commissions, in collaboration with OECD, ITC, and UNCTAD, with the aim to collect data and information on trade facilitation and paperless trade implementation at national level. The survey is intended to enable countries and their development partners to better understand and monitor progress in trade facilitation, support evidence-based policy-making, identify good practices, and define capacity building and technical assistance needs.

This report examines and documents evolutions and emerging opportunities and challenges in the digital economy. It provides a comprehensive overview of the digital economy, including matters of infrastructure, policy, net neutrality, development, privacy and security.

This report contains four messages: 1) the ICT revolution has the potential of transforming economies and societies; 2) the ICT revolution is well under way in some parts of the world; 3) the ICT revolution has not so far reached large parts of the planet; 4) Digital divides exist within countries

This analysis shows that digital trade contributes to economic output by improving productivity and reducing trade costs. Digital trade also contributes to the economy as a whole as it facilitates communication, expedites business transactions, improves access to information, and improves market opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The case studies in this report provide an analysis of rural businesses that have increased sales, profits, and/or employment, as well as those who have expanded markets and customer relationships by using e-commerce. The case studies focus on locally-owned rural businesses as opposed to branch plants or franchises.

The Guidelines are intended to assist OECD member states in the implementation of the Taxation Framework Conditions aimed at preventing double taxation or unintentional non-taxation, particularly in the context of international cross-border electronic commerce.

GIP event reports

The session on 'Blockchains for Sustainable Development' was opened by Mr James Zhan (Director of Investment and Enterprise, UNCTAD), who explained that UNCTAD is looking for solutions in e-governance, e-regulations and other fields to secure payments of businesses through distributed ledger technologies (DLTs).

He noted that blockchain's best-known application in 2009, cryptocurrency, has made an entry in many different spheres around the world, providing investment opportunities and giving developing countries the possibility to trace money transfers. Nonetheless, he raised concerns about the risks of countries being left behind through a deepening of the digital divide.

Panel 1:

The first panel was opened by Mr Jem Bendell (Professor of Sustainability Leadership and Founder of the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS), University of Cumbria) who noted that there is a great amount of investments going into startups and other businesses in the crypto-space, and that there is often very divided media coverage regarding the technology. Some media outlets view it as a panacea, while others see it as a technology which causes more harm than good. He pointed out that blockchain is much more than a simple database, and that it is not the technology itself which will provide benefits for humanity, but the way that it is used.

He further stated that today, blockchain applies to much more than just cryptocurrencies. Its application ranges from supporting governmental communication systems to automated payments. He highlighted Kenya’s example where blockchain technology facilitates grass root collaboration, allowing communities to trade among themselves.

As a response to critics classifying cryptocurrencies as threats to the financial system and the environment, Bendell said that a fundamental overhaul of the financial system was long overdue. Regarding the energy efficiency of DLTs, he asked whether blockchain could be designed in a way that is more energy efficient, and that would favour a better distribution of wealth. He pointed out that any technology is about our intention, and that it could be shaped to help and serve our needs for sustainable development.

Mr Louis De Bruin (Blockchain Leader Europe, IBM Digital Operations) spoke about IBM’s contribution to the Linux Foundation, in making the Hyperledger project more sustainable.

In De Bruin’s view, blockchain is a business engineering tool that can enhance efficiency exponentially, as it contributes to making processes in all sectors more efficient, helping reduce waste and support sustainability. He spoke about IBM’s FoodTrust initiative, in which companies are working together to develop a blockchain that shows the carbon footprint of food, where it comes from, etc.

Other blockchain applications help trace the origins of diamonds and other valuable minerals, in order to avoid the illicit trade of blood diamonds and other illegal trading activities.

Ms Vanessa Grellet (Executive Director, Consensys Social Impact) noted that Consensys started its social impact coalition with companies and NGOs working with blockchain. Therein, securing and controlling value chains were one of the identified fields where blockchain could be put to good use. Another field was regarding the environment, as blockchain technology is used to help reduce the carbon footprint of products by reducing mismanagement and waste, and creating new markets. Additionally, blockchain is also used to foster financial inclusion.

The speaker pointed out that new focus areas have surfaced, such as defending human rights and human rights activists, supporting democratic processes, and many other fields.

Consensys is working on bringing more transparency into the charity sector and governmental funding. However, Grellet also warned that proposed solutions cannot be experiments, and outcomes must be foreseeable and measurable. For this reason, she urged practitioners to work with people on the ground who know the situation and dynamics in order to find adaptive solutions, to avoid doing more harm than good.

Mr Sander De Jong (Managing Directort, FairFood International) explained that the goal of his organisation is to help make food without harming the environment. He mentioned that up to 80% of our food comes from small farmers but that consumers are usually unaware of this fact, as well as the origins and conditions of food. For this reason, FairFood International saw an opportunity in blockchain technology which gives farmers agency, access to markets, consumers, and finance. Additionally, it allows people to verify the supply chain of their food

He used Colombian coffee as an example and said that traditionally, consumers only knew that the coffee came from Colombia because it was written on the package. With the implementation of blockchain, the farmers can verify this information themselves, and let consumers know that the coffee was actually produced equitably on their farms.

Further questions asked by the moderator Ms Galia Benartzi (Co-Founder, Bancor), were concerned with how blockchain could impact people and areas of the world with no Internet connection. De Bruin explained that a lot of the technology used to track value chains and products worldwide are operated with crypto-anchors, devices that are installed and set up in places without connectivity, sending information to the blockchain as soon as they reach a connected environment.

Regarding blockchain applications in the context of fighting climate change, Grellet said that DLTs offer opportunities for carbon credit offsets, and that they can be implemented to reduce waste in production lines, and to reduce energy consumption in smart houses. De Bruin added that blockchain technology does not necessarily have to be energy intensive, and future developments will decrease the amount of energy required to operate DLTs.

Panel 2:

The second panel was introduced by a keynote speech from Mr Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao (CEO, Binance), who stated that blockchain’s major contribution is transparency: 'With better transparency we can achieve 100 times more results'. According to Zhao, transparency is fundamental and will contribute to all 17 SDGs.

He noted that in the charity sector, up to 80% of donations do not reach beneficiaries, pointing to a lack of tangibility, achievement, and purpose of the funds that are donated. To solve this issue, he advocated for the implementation of blockchain, which he described as an immutable and transparent public record with the potential to track transactions from the source to the final destination.

However, he recognised that blockchain is not easy to use, which is why his company created a website to help users navigate and track their donations. In the case of a fundraiser after a flood disaster in West Japan, Binance was able to raise USD$410 000 in cryptocurrency donations, in addition to an initial USD$1 million donation. These amounts were published and can be verified by the donors through Binance’s website.

He also noted that blockchain depends on how we use it, saying that the tool itself is neither good nor bad. Industry leaders thus need to prove how it can be used for good.

Mr Chris Fabian (Co-Founder, UNICEF Innovation Fund) showcased the example of the lack of connectivity in Mauritania by showing a map of how many schools were disconnected in that specific area. He explained that these types of visualisations might help service providers reorient the areas to prioritise for infrastructure development and show vulnerabilities. The people, especially children in those areas, are vulnerable because they might not benefit from the same advantages as their peers in connected regions.

According to Fabian, there is a potential to utilise blockchain technology as a global public good that pools demand, and holds companies accountable to fair pricing, similar to what the public-private vaccine alliance, GAVI does for pharmaceuticals.

Ms Galia Benartzi (Co-Founder, Bancor) spoke about the way we perceive money, saying that money has the power of unlocking energy or power, but it went through different evolutions. It went from a gold standard to fiat currency, and is now becoming increasingly digital, wherein money can be produced by people.

She mentioned that societies without money are at a standstill, and resort to barter which is why Bancor builds liquid community currencies. Bancor aims to automate the activity of trade by matching buyers and sellers through liquid community currencies. These currencies can be:

Continuously liquid (can always find a buyer for your currency)

Stable and safe (no crashes because information is open and public)

Efficient and affordable (do not charge fees, allows any token creator to access)

Benartzi spoke about a case in Kenya where user-generated money had only very limited use because it could not be traded for other currencies. However, with Bancor’s help, they now can exchange their tokens.

Ms Marta Piekarska (Director of Ecosystem, Hyperledger) mentioned the paradox of blockchain being a technology developed by wealthy societies of the 'first-world', which is trying to find applications for sustainable development. She noted that inventions such as smart fridges, increasingly small microchips and other technologies might be useless for developing countries. However, blockchain allows creating direct connections between producers and buyers, and therefore has the potential to truly bridge the gaps.

She identified the certainty of verification and the traceability of the origin of products; the possibility to make direct transactions; and making sure producers are treated equitably, as some of blockchain's positive effects. She further said that where people usually require certain levels of trust before entering transactions, blockchain does not rely on that initial mutual trust, as it provides a system that is transparent. In the case of fair trade products, blockchain can also help reduce overall prices given that higher prices do not only stem from sustainable farming practices, but mostly from middlemen that certify commodities’ origins and conditions. Piekarska explained that Hyperledger is an open-source technology which everyone can use to build their own company and provide for themselves.

The moderator, MrGünther Dobrauz (Partner & Leader at PwC Legal Switzerland), asked about the biggest challenge the speakers faced with regards to DLTs, to which Benartzi highlighted the inability to have informed conversations about the technology. Piekarska identified the rush to implement blockchain as an opportunity, but also as a big challenge, especially given the immutable and permanent nature of information stored in blockchains. It is therefore critical to anticipate what will happen to the data and what kind of information is stored.

Panel 3:

Ms Eva Kaili (Member of the European Parliament, Chair Science & Technology Options Assessment Body of the EU gave the keynote address for the third panel. She spoke about the EU's Blockchains for Social Good prize which will award €5 million to the five most promising projects for innovation leveraging DLT solutions. She further mentioned that the EU has already spent €340 million for several pilot projects to help countries work together on DLT projects and announced that this sum will be doubled soon.

According to Kaili, blockchain technology can be used in a variety of sectors. It can help decrease international transaction fees considerably or be used in the health sector. Such is already the case with the My Health, My Data alliance working with different countries to share anonymised health data for research, to help find new solutions for infections and improving treatments.

As another example, she pointed to the price volatility in the trade sector, and the need of keeping up with rapid developments and changes in the sector. For this reason, the EU has created the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum.

She further announced the EU’s efforts to overcome crowdfunding issues. Whereas the previous regulations foresaw a cap of €1 million for money raised within one country, new regulations will allow people to fundraise projects with donations from all EU member states for sums up to €8 million.

Considering the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Kaili explained that the regulation was a principle-based legislation. Given this, it is not conceived as a regulation hampering innovation, 'It is principle based and thus stops where innovation principles begin.'

Mr Günther Dobrauz (Partner & Leader at PwC Legal Switzerland) said that blockchain is still at an early stage and that there is no dominant design or a widely accepted standard which would enable the technology to fully take off. Bitcoin is only one possible use of DLTs, but there are many others, and it will take more experiences to fully unwrap the technology’s potential.

On key issues and the potential danger for the conventional finance system, Dobrauz stated that the younger generations are much more aware and concerned about sustainability. Furthermore, they were brought up in the aftermath of the most recent financial crash of 2007, which is why they put more trust in programmes rather than conventional banking systems. He identified blockchain technology as a possible solution to rebuild trust in these systems due to its inherent transparency.

Mr Hans Docter (Director for Sustainable Economic Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands) pointed out that innovative ideas are usually sparked by things that are dear to the developer and that have promising returns of investment.

He spoke about trust and the lack thereof in different environments, but warned that while blockchain can provide solutions, it is not a solution in itself because mistrust can easily be transferred ito the new technology.

Docter introduced the Dutch Blockchain Coalition which brings different actors together in a joint venture between industry, government, and knowledge institutions to contribute to the coalition’s agenda.

Additionally, Docter mentioned generally being in favour of regulations, but warned against the hampering of innovation. He admitted that EU regulations still need improvements, and cautioned against over-regulating technologies at early stages. In his view, policymakers need to intervene and rectify certain developments at a later stage.

Mr Marius Jurgilas (Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania) said that blockchain has the biggest potential in environments where obtaining trust for transactions or processes is difficult.

He outlined the Bank of Lithuania’s rationale for regulating blockchain, which is about market failure concerns and potential systemic risks, as well as the catalysation of innovations.

In that context, Jurgilas mentioned initial coin offerings (ICOs) as an opportunity for nascent capital markets. However, consumers are often defrauded during these operations, raising the question of how policymakers can prevent these situations. So far, policymakers inform about the risks and opportunities of ICOs but their engagement is limited.

Another regulatory approach of the Lithuanian bank is the implementation of a technological sandbox. It functions both as a test lab for regulators, and as a catalyst for developers and it is currently supported by IBM and Deloitte. The advantage of this communal approach is that it provides governments with the opportunity to test regulations, while taking away the private sector's fears of damaging regulations. Additionally, the Lithuanian approach provides the central bank with the possibility to do 'in vitro' tests with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and to lead by example.

The panellist noted that Malta has already noticed an increased influx of talents and projects to the island thanks to the adopted approach. Kablan also pointed out that an essential element of the framework’s success comes from the legal certainty and opportunities that it provides to investors and companies.

He also announced that the Malta Stock Exchange is currently working on ways to tokenise assets.

The moderator, MrJem Bendell (Professor of Sustainability Leadership and Founder of the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS), University of Cumbria), asked about the key elements needed for the successful implementation of DLTs. Kaili answered by pointing to the need of establishing more observatories reporting ondevelopments in new currencies, in order to give consumers the assurance that specific types of tokens actually have value. With regards to policymakers, Kaili stressed the importance of the ability to act fast, to be innovation-friendly, and business and technology neutral. She also mentioned the necessity of having common regulations on DLT developments at least across Europe, eventually extending to a global framework.

Kablan said that stimulating economic growth through innovation is very important, but that these developments need to be observed from a macro level as well, in order to intervene in time if needed.

Jurgilas noted that if regulators do not keep up with technology’s fast-paced developments, they will lose relevance.

Docter mentioned that Switzerland’s banking sector benefited from a similarly open approach for regulations as the path taken by Malta regarding innovative technologies, and the fact that legal stability has the potential to attract investments. He also cautioned against the risk of policymakers’ inaction regarding DLTs, due to the risk of missing out on investments.

The session was moderated by Mr Felix Maonera (Deputy Head at the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) Geneva Office) who started by explaining that the session will focus on the impact of technology on production and trade in small states, least developed countries (LDCs) and ACP countries. He stated that technology has the power to bring global and local markets together, and that innovation is an important resource for increasing production in the manufacturing sector. He also highlighted that for such states, transferring technology does not simply mean exporting or importing specific technologies, rather, it should mean building local capacity for efficient use and development of the technology.

Mr Andrew Staines (Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom Mission to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva) explained that the UK is making efforts in ensuring that small states can participate meaningfully in digital commerce. He explained that the recently-launched UK development plan also considers new forms of trade, including the digital economy. He further illustrated the UK Mission’s efforts towards aiding LDCs: the UK supports capacity-building programmes such as DiploFoundation’s course on digital commerce, targeting Geneva-based diplomats from LDCs. Moreover, the UK has supported the launch of the Commonwealth Standards Network, namely a platform for Commonwealth countries to exchange ideas, share best practices and impart knowledge, aiming to facilitate trade and foster innovation across the Commonwealth through the increased use of international standards. He concluded by saying that the UK also supports other programmes aiming to link trade and development (i.e. ‘how to do development in a digital world’), to promote digital commerce as a key player in curbing the digital divide, and to promote financial inclusion.

Mr Frank Van Rompaey (Head of the UNIDO Office in Geneva, United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO)) first considered that industrialisation is a priority for LDCs as a way to add value to communities and start participating in digital trade. He maintained that the main focus of LDCs should still remain on the manufacturing sector which, compared to the service sector, is the actual source of technological development. He explained that the ‘Industrial Revolution 3.0’ has already started; however, in LDCs this process has still not been fully accomplished. Technology has the power to allow global value chains to emerge. The outcome of the revolution is that labour costs are expected to rise and hence force labour-intensive industries to relocate to LDCs. He then maintained that we cannot yet speak of the ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ because this process has still not affected production chains. He concluded by affirming that the opportunities and risks of the digitalisation of the economy largely depend on the type of the industry under consideration. For labour-intensive industries, the impact will not be as drastic as some commentators ventilate. He explained that there is still a clear window of opportunity for LDCs within the 2030 development agenda, especially if they focus on the manufacturing sector. In order for ‘Industry 4.0’ to develop, cyber production systems, a high-level of energy supply and well-integrated systems are needed. LDCs do not have those factors yet and their economies need to transform structurally first.

Ms Marilia Maciel (Digital Policy Senior Researcher at DiploFoundation) considered that LDCs need to put policies in place in order to participate in the digital economy. At the same time, she said that LDCs need capacity-building programmes to allow them to also take part in policy discussions at the multilateral level.

She explained that DiploFoundation’s mission is to analyse, map, decrypt, and build information and knowledge around what is discussed in the ‘very scattered policy debate in Geneva’. She maintained that most of the sessions addressing capacity building at the WTO Public Forum target mainly small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, she stressed the importance of not forgetting the policymakers, ‘those who develop the relevant policies for those who are on the ground’.

She then considered the three main challenges regarding capacity-development programmes for policy-makers:

First, there is an increasing intersection between digital and trade policies. Such an intersection was also present in the past (e.g. considering issues such as online consumer protection and privacy); however, the volume and the breadth of these issues are unprecedented. Moreover, such an intersection is not a language shift but a knowledge one: most of the regional trade agreements already have a clear digital component. And even if some countries are not part of such agreements, they are of importance to them as ‘when they want to be part of it in a later stage, the framework will have been already discussed for them’.

Second, there is doubt over if and how to engage in such negotiations. Negotiators will need to take their decisions based on facts, on the knowledge of the matter at stake. If we are talking about the digital economy, this entails a basic understanding on how the Internet works, its infrastructure, and the actors involved.

Third, trade negotiators need to find a point of common dialogue considered to be the existing asymmetries in digital development. Companies that are data intensive (e.g. Apple) have a budget that is higher than the economies of four LDCs together. She concluded by stating that this is precisely where capacity building comes into the picture. In the Digital Commerce course developed by DiploFoundation, the approach taken was factual, policy-based, and multidisciplinary as it comprised legal, policy and technical discussions.

The session was moderated by Ms Latifa Elbouabdellaoui (Directeur des Relations Commerciales Internationales, Ministère de l’Industrie, de l’Investissement, du Commerce et de l’Economie Numérique, Royaume du Maroc), who started by introducing the panellists. She said that there is a lack of infrastructures and digital skills in Africa. According to her, new technologies are present, but there is still so much to be done towards the development of the continent. In addition, Elbouabdellaoui said that when it come to digital trade, Africa is the least integrated continent. She argued that African countries must invest in education and digital infrastructures for better competitiveness.

Ms Marion Jansen (Chief Economist, International Trade Center (ITC) started by going through the ITC report, ‘SME Competitiveness Outlook 2018: Business Ecosystems for the Digital Age’. She talked about platform revolution and said that we are entering a new era of digital platforms. She pointed to the challenges and opportunities that this creates for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Jansen said that the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastrucure remains quite important for digital trade and that there are still many people offline, in places such as Nigeria, India, etc.

Jansen gave the example of Rwanda integrating ICT into logistics services, by using drones to deliver medicine. She noted the importance of building trust in the digital economy. According to her, big data has a great role to play in helping SMEs. She said that there is a need for a plan of action and for education in order to move rapidly into the digital age. In response to a question from the moderator, she emphasised the importance of the interoperability of technology. Finally, she talked about the issue of privacy and cybersecurity of enterprises. According to her, the key point for the SMEs is to have trust.

Mr Ajay Kumar Bramdeo (Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United Nations and other Geneva-based Economic Organizations) started by thanking the moderator. He highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) signed last March in Rwanda. He argued that Africa needs to integrate itself into the gobal digital market soon, as it would bring so many opportunities to the continent.

Furthermore, Bramdeo asked how we can shape the challenges of the digital economy to address the issues of development. According to him, four African countries (South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, and Marocco) count for more than 80% of the exports. He emphasised the potential of e-commerce in increasing the competitiveness of the private sector, creativity, etc. He said that the integration of African countries in digital trade would help reduce poverty. In addition, he said that there is a need for co-operation between public authorities, the private sector, and international organisations.

Bramdeo pointed to issue of legislation when it comes to regulating digital trade. He said that it is often an obstacle to innovation. He also highlighted the role of the African Union in facilitating partnership between countries. Finally, he stressed that ownership of data is a big issue in digital trade in Africa.

Mr Diego Aulestia (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the WTO and other economic organizations based in Geneva) asked what the context of digital trade in developing countries, such as Ecuador, was. He said that the benefits of digitalisation will not be automatic and that there is a need for economic growth, productivity, jobs, and transformation in international trade. How asked how developing countries could increase their share of the profits.

In addition, Aulestia noted that 57% of enterprises use a digital signature. He said that there are three major challenges: investment, regulation, and industrial policy. He further explained the development implications of e-commerce, for example, the transfer of technology, access to infrastructure, etc. Moreover, he mentioned that there is a need for digital capabilities, data sovereignty, industrial policy, tax policy, and articulation with manufacturing activities, etc.

Finally, he talked about the Agenda Elac2020 : improving digital infrastructure, digital government, regional digital market, etc. He said that Latin America, as a region wants more co-operation, for example, ‘South-South cooperation and Triangular’.

Mr Xinquan Tu (Dean and Professor, China Institute for WTO Studies, University of International Business and Economics) served as moderator of the session. He started by introducing the panellists. He said that the discussions would focus on the possible role of e-commerce in enhancing the inclusiveness of global value chains (GVCs).

Mr Xiangchen Zhang (Permanent Representative and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the WTO), started by explaining the transformation of e-commerce in everyday activities. He noted the potential of including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into global trade.

In addition, Zhang stressed how e-commerce facilitates the inclusion of these enterprises in GVCs. He noted that e-commerce must have clear digital policies. We need infrastructure programmes for these countries. He also explained the role of the Chinese government in facilitating digital trade pointing out the dialogue between stakeholders.

Ms Arancha González (Executive Director, International Trade Centre (ITC)) explained the ‘smart way’ for companies to participate takes advantage of the possibility of trade without intermediation. González said that 80% of online enterprises are micro-enterprises.

Furthermore, she noted the challenges of monopoly of the benefits of digital trade, electronic payment for services, consumer protection, logistics, national financial services, and product quality. Answering a question from the moderator, she said that China has worked on the eco-system approach to facilitate trade online. She also noted that the International Trade Centre (ITC) works with the countries in helping them to improve the online services and market.

Mr Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz (Chief Executive, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)), talked about the inclusiveness of MSMEs. According to a United Nations report, 52% of the world population is still offline. In addition, he said that the GVCs are largely based on physical infrastructures. He noted the complex issue of achieving connectivity without the necessary digital skills and human resources.

According to Meléndez-Ortiz, we need to work on facilitating trade using digital resources, for example, applications and platforms for the connectivity. More important, we need to improve gender equality for women. He said that we also need to resolve the deeper issues of security and privacy, and cross-border of data flows. He emphasised the protection of the consumer as well.

Mr Jian Wang (Chair Professor of International Business and E-business, University of International Business and Economics), explained that rules are based on business practices and business models in China. He presented ‘the Cross-border E-commerce Innovation and Implication for Inclusive Trade: the Case of China’ He said that these transactions are very important for both exporter and importer. He noted the role of transactions in international trade. In China, cross-border e-commerce has an eco-system and market structure. According to Wang, there are immerging third-party platforms in China to facilitate trade. He emphasised the importance of business to consumer (B2C) trade.

Furthermore, Wang gave the example of ‘Onetouch’ for paperless trading and integrated service. He mentioned product quality protection, protection period, and payment protection as important concepts and talked about matching buyers with sellers. He noted the large role played by the Chinese government in facilitating the ‘Emerging Model of Private Single Window Integrated Service Platform’. This platform deals with e-registration, e-inspection, e-ports, etc. He asked: how can we make sure that cross-border e-commerce is based on a secure, trusted global environment? He noted that we need stability, predictability, and consistency. He mentioned the role of an appropriate legal environment with mutual respect and co-operation in cross-border data flows.

Finally, he gave the example of the National Cross-border E-trade Pilot Zone (Integrated Pilot Zones, B2B) in 35 cities. He said that this business practice can be used by both public and private platforms. He stressed the exchange of information, willingness. and mindset needed in order to achieve cross-border e-commerce.

The event was organised by TechUK and addressed the rise of data flows, and technologies like additive manufacturing (3D printing) and their implications for global trade. The meaning of trade is changing, due to the evolution of cross-border data flows, worth trillions to the world economy, and the expectation of the global additive manufacturing market to grow rapidly through 2030. Developments in this field are challenging the notion of who is adding value, and where the value is added. Moderated by Mr Stuart Harbinson (Senior Consultant, Hume Brophy) the event was featured by a panel discussion.

The first panellist H.E. Andrew Staines (Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative, UK Mission to the UN and Other International Organisations, Geneva), talked about the trends of the last two decades. He argued that the expansion of service industries, in addition to the shift from analogue to digital, has created more intangible assets in the economy. Moreover, this shift has been characterised by a geographical shift, from the West to the East. As a result, there is an increase in waves of returns in intangible assets. He further added that latest trends have been affected by the fourth industrial revolution, the increased utilisation of data, and by the evolution of new technologies such as Internet of things (IoT), 3D printing, and others. Focusing on the UK, he argued that innovation is the foundation for competition in a revolutionised world of manufacturing. He concluded that in order to address challenges, rules need to be adapted to new scenarios, tackling issues such as freedom of data flows, and data tariffs.

The second panellist Mr Carlos Halasz (Customs Compliance Officer, Global Trade, HP Inc), gave an overview of the global manufacturing sector, which is becoming increasingly automatised. He explained that China has recently became the largest manufacturing hub in the world, while 15% of the EU's total added value comes from the manufacturing sector. With this regard, despite the slowing down trend in recent years, manufacturing continues to shift and centralise in specific regions of the globe. Halasz used the example of 3D printing, which was initially used for prototypes in its beginning stages, is being used for mass production since 2015. The technology is becoming more efficient and less expensive, therefore 3D printing has the potential to be as competitive as traditional manufacturing in the future. He concluded by stressing the importance of the sustainability of 3D technologies, which must able to produce goods without creating waste.

The third panellist Ms Karishma Banga (Senior Research Officer, ODI), focused on Africa, the challenges, and opportunities created by new technologies. She argued that the third industrial revolution created a wave of premature de-industrialisation in developing countries. With regards to the use of new technologies for manufacturing in developing countries; she pointed to an important digital divide that persists, for instance in the use of robotics and 3D printing capabilities. The impact of digitalisation in African countries is lower compared to global statistics. In terms of challenges, African countries are facing issues related to, reshoring activities; the limited future for offshoring; new goods and their related data being increasingly linked to pre-manufacturing; and the slow-down of convergence in manufacturing labor productivity. In terms of opportunities, they can benefit from the lower costs of production, trade and co-ordination, allowing participation in global value chains; and improvements in productivity that boost outputs, exports, jobs, and value. Finally, she concluded with a few recommendations to increase African countries’ competitiveness. There is a need to continue to boost traditional manufacturing, while at the same time, it is crucial to start the digitalisation of such manufacturing. In addition to this approach on traditional manufacturing, actions must be taken related to digital manufacturing, such as investments in Internet and digital technologies, and targeted skills development.

The final panellist was Mr Antony Walker (Deputy CEO, techUK) who gave a policy expert insight on the topic. He argued that the WTO agenda still uses the term e-commerce, despite the fact that the fourth industrial revolution has went way beyond that. He stated that discussions are inevitably politicised, and this could be found in the term revolution that implies dramatic changes, as well as winners and losers. Such discussions cover issues of privacy, children safety online, use of public data, artificial intelligence, and employment to cite a few. With this regard, he stated that while considering the potential to open up to new markets around the world, the aforementioned topics and concerns should be considered. Finally, he concluded by saying that there is a need to embrace the change, and that 'the old model is no longer applicable'.

Ms Claudia Schmucker (Head of the Globalisation and World Economy Program, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)), started by highlighting the important role of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the global economy, including for promoting GDP growth. Trade policy can either hamper or facilitate the future inclusion of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in global value chains (GVCs). However, SMEs are do not only react to the legal environment, they can influence it as well.

Mr Christian Diemer (CEO, Heitkamp & Thumann Group), stated that the impact of digitisation on SMEs depend on whether they are in the business-to-customer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) segment. In B2B, companies are less affected by digitisation, while B2C models need to change and adapt very fast. For a B2B company like Thumann, digitisation is just another step in evolution, and does not put into question the core business model. Nevertheless, there are new challenges for these companies, such as the rise in cybercrime. Small businesses often cannot afford dedicated IT security teams.

Ms Caroline King, (Senior Director, Government Relations, Global Head Business Support, Digital Government, SAP AG) noted that cycles of innovation are becoming faster, and company growth is usually happening through start-up and SME acquisitions. Large companies are interested in promoting incubators, innovation centres and capacity building.

Mr Robert Koopman, (Chief Economist and Director, Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO) noted that SMEs are not well integrated into the global economy. There are barriers related to cross-border commerce, such as understanding the commercial and regulatory environments. MSMEs represent a large share of firms, but a relatively small share of global output (GDP) and exports.

Mr Ilja Nothnagel (Managing Director International Economic Policy, Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK)), commented on possible opportunities and threats that digitalisation can pose for MSMEs. He noted that companies are hiring more workers, but in different sectors.

Schmucker asked the speakers to reflect on the role of WTO negotiators, and what they can do to facilitate trade, fight protectionism, and integrate SMEs in GVCs.

Diemer disapproved of over-regulation. He opined that the European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is too strict for MSMEs, and it slows down businesses. The WTO should help promote harmonised global standards that simplify the regulatory patchwork that companies are currently confronted with.

King opined that multilateral rules need to be stable, predictable, and harmonised. Markets need to be as open as possible for MSMEs and other companies.

According to Koopman, there is a general recognition that common legal standards would bring certainty, increased transparency, and lower costs for firms. The challenge is agreeing on specific standards. There are already agreements in place in the WTO that are important for MSMEs and digitisation, such as the Information technology Agreement (ITA) and the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

Questions from the floor were related to the role of the WTO in protecting MSMEs against Internet giants; national policies that demand local content and data localisation; costs of introduction of new technologies; and the importance of the Digital Geneva Convention proposed by Microsoft.

According to Diemer, small companies could be threatened by large Internet companies, but medium companies will not go out of business. Moreover, tech giants are buying creativity when they buy start-ups, which could also be positive. King reminded that Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba, and Microsoft are just a part of the Internet economy. There are many other innovative companies being created. In Germany, while large companies are crashing, MSMEs are thriving.

Koopman, opined that there is a need to understand which regulations can be better introduced on national or international levels. There are economic benefits of regulatory coherence, and a Digital Geneva Convention laying out principles could be an useful development.

Diemer opposed regulation that requires companies to open offices in other countries. He explained that his company opened offices in some countries to comply with local content regulations, but it was very costly to operate and the offices were closed.

Ilia argued that protecting small companies from large ones is not a good path, because they lose dynamism and the capacity to compete. It is better to strengthen competition norms, and to introduce measures to support SMEs, such as helping them deal with border procedures. He mentioned that the introduction costs of new technologies and processes are lowering, but there is a lack of skilled labor, so human capital costs are going up.

The moderator, Mr Eloi Laourou (Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Bénin in Geneva), started the session by stressed that a lot needs to be done to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in least developed countries (LDCs), and that the benefits of supporting local communities and countries are substantial.

Ms Elodie Akotossode (FounderEd Tech Women and Ed Tech Academy) described her personal story of advancing her knowledge regarding new technology. However, she also noticed a lack of women in the field, and decided to establish an organisation to address this gap. The trainings offered have a local focus, are geared towards small vendors, aiming to enable them to make the most of their online presence. Trainings include web design, building online shops, product presentation, and logo design, among other topics. Akotossode stressed the need for personalised training, starting by identifying the needs on the ground in order to tailor the training as much as possible; she emphasised the importance of empowering women to make the full use of technology in order to avoid being left behind.

Mr Denis Deschamps (General-Director, Conférence permanente des chambres consulaires africaines et francophones (CPCCAF)) began by describing the work of the organisation. The standing conference aims to be a space for sharing experiences and information among member countries. The CPCCAF provides support for economic development and the business sector in member countries. It aims to foster partnerships among African countries and beyond. Deschamps explained that the CPCCAF also works with SMEs, in particular related to topics in communication and information technology (ICT). He stressed that Africa has the potential to leap forward using new technologies, such as drones and geo-tracking, and emphasised that the first goal behind these efforts has to be to feed people and contribute to their subsistence. The key, according to Deschamps, is to provide adequate content that meets the needs of people, and information that enables entrepreneurship, since there is no development without information.

Mr Carlos Foradori (Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Argentina in Geneva) highlighted that there are challenges as well as opportunities when it comes to technology and SMEs in LDCs. Challenges include the fact that LDCs have low Internet penetration rates, lack of communications infrastructure, high administrative costs for businesses (that want to take advantage of global markets), and lack relevant skills. However, he stressed that e-commerce and new ICTs also generate new opportunities. He mentioned the Global Trade Help Desk, and the Foreign Trade Information Centre as examples that try to empower SMEs in developing countries, allowing them to take advantage of e-commerce opportunities and global markets.

Ms Arancha González (Executive Director, Centre du Commerce International (ITC/CCI)) argued that it is time that LDCs move from being consumers to becoming producers of technology, technology needs to be a lever of development. González argued that technological innovation and digital progress is not only for the Global North, the Global South also has best practices that illustrate the incredible speed of transformation taking place. Institutions that focus on trade and investment promotion have an important role to play to transform big data to knowledge, and provide user-friendly intelligence based on big data, ‘big data for small businesses’. González stressed that it is crucial to zoom in on the ecosystem required for people in the Global South to participate meaningfully in e-commerce and make the most use of available technology. She argued that it is important to investigate difficulties faced by enterprises, to become more effective globally. Ultimately, the key, according to González, is to connect SMEs to digital markets.

The session was moderated by Mr Derek O’Halloran (Head, Future of Digital Economy and Society, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum (WEF)), who stressed the role of digital trade as the main instrument for achieving economic development. According to O’Halloran, without solving problems of inequality in Internet access, we will not be able to benefit fully from the fourth industrial revolution. We must ensure that digital skills and infrastructures are accessible to the different regions.

Mr Jarno Limnéll (Professor of Cybersecurity, Aalto University) said that cybersecurity is a real issue for everyone, everywhere. He pointed to ‘digital security’ as the main instrument of the digital economy. He highlighted the issue of trust which he identified as the key point in cybersecurity. Limnéll stated that cybersecurity is an issue of attitude. Security must be the first point to think about when it comes to digital development. He stressed two points; strategic issues, and the leadership issue. If there is no leadership, we have a crisis. When we are talking about the future of cybersecurity, we must combine those two points. He said that we have to remember that there is no difference between physical and digital security. We have to adapt a comprehensive attitude on cybersecurity issues. Limnéll noted the importance of education and the need to train youth with the necessary digital skills.

Mr Rauk Rikk (Programme Director of National Cyber Security, e-Governance Academy) joining remotely, started by explaining the role of governments in digital services. He said that his academy consults various governments around the globe on cybersecurity issues. He explained their work on mutual recognition of electronic identities. He noted trust as the real issue of digital trade. Rikk talked about creating trust and ensuring security between different entities, and gave the examples of regulations in e-ID and trust services for electronic transactions in the digital market.

According to Rikk, we have to start with the digital identity of enterprises. It is something that we cannot avoid in digital trade. He highlighted the role of identification for good co-operation between companies in everyday activities. In addition, he said that countries usually start to think about cybersecurity after incidents occur. The problem of security is a point of management as well as a political field. He also talked about the important role of leadership in tackling cybersecurity issues. Finally, he noted the advantages of using the digital materials. For example, in Estonia, Internet voting costs less than physical voting procedures.

Ms Eneken Tikk (Lead of Strategy and Power Studies, Cyber Policy Institute) said that we are worrying about cybersecurity because we realise that economy develops faster by using digital materials. According to her, cybersecurity an instrument that benefits all countries.

Tikk explained that in the UN meetings, there are many points of view on cybersecurity. She said that a country like Estonia has a major role in helping other countries maximise the positive aspects of the digital economy.

Mr Karol Mattila (Head of Government Relations, Nokia) started by explaining the activities of Nokia, and highlighted key priorities to improve digital trade. According to him, the goal of his company is to work on achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by using technology. He added that international organisations and civil society must come together to tackle the issues of cybersecurity. Finally, he said that cybersecurity must always respect the rule of law and the fundemental rights of consumers and citizens.

The session on digital trade was organised by the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) and was moderated by Mr Peter Bay Kirkegaard (Senior Adviser, Confederation of Danish Industry (DI)). The session explored the rise of digital trade and the counter-evolution of digital protectionism, which is currently being observed by specialists. While digital trade increases productivity and provides better market access for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on global markets, it also raises a range of concerns with regard to data security, privacy, and tech monopolies. In the absence of international rules to handle these issues, countries worldwide have introduced digital trade barriers hampering digitalisation and international trade. This is why governments and organisations increasingly demand multilateral rules that provide transparent and stabile regulation of digital trade.

Kirkegaard introduced the session by providing examples of businesses which are part of the DI, Denmark’s biggest confederation, which is privately owned, and showcased how data collected in one place of the world is being processed in another, in order to manufacture tailored products for their customers. He explained that certain members of the confederation voiced concerns about the evolution of the digital agenda in light of countries adopting more protective measures on data transfers and data localisation that could harm their business models. He mentioned that clients are in favour of international trade rules and that these same clients were also in favour of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because it enhanced consumer trust in their products and services.

Mr Erik Van der Marel (Senior Economist at ECIPE) and his team created an indicator for digital restrictiveness in trends, and spoke about the rising trend of digital trade policies. In general, it could be observed that information and communications technology (ICT) services have grown much faster than trade in goods and commodities. Additionally, he mentioned that many sectors are not digital but are undergoing digitalisation. The importance of data across all sectors is also reflected in a McKinsey study which shows that the contribution of data to global GDP already surpasses that of goods, and its impact will keep increasing with the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced technologies.

The indicator also identified privacy and data protection as well as data localisation policies as being most restrictive for trade. As observed by Van der Marel, data policies, especially policies regulating cross-border flows, are rising. However, the economist noted that according to their findings, countries with more restrictive data cross-border flow regulations are benefitting less from digital trade. In order to overcome these challenges, the panellist mentioned the importance of multilateral rules and the creation of an enabling environment for digital trade, particularly with regards to developing countries.

Mr Pascal Kerneis (Managing Director at ESF) acknowledged that certain countries are in need of the most basic infrastructure for companies to have a chance of prospering in digital trade. These needs range from a continuous power supply to road infrastructure, and are not only the basis for digital trade, but trade in general. To that, he added, legal frameworks and access to finances are essential.

He further stated that 'digital trade is about services' and that 'data is a service', given that trade in general could not operate without the varous data produced, starting from the ICT infrastructure required to operate transactions, to the information analysis which is based on benchmark results.

Kerneis reminded the audience of the WTO’s precursory role in 1998 when it adopted a programme on electronic commerce and said that no progress had been made since. He is therefore in favour of the joint initiative on electronic commerce that 71 sates pledged to during the Buenos Aires round of negotiations, and would allow willing countries to move forward with an agreement on e-commerce. In that context, he also encouraged negotiators to look into free trade agreements that already adopted provisions on digital trade and data flow principles, such as the agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA), the EU and Japan (EPA), and the newly negotiated USMCA. According to Kerneis, localised data would prove to be an extremely costly solution that would only increase costs for consumers and businesses alike.

Frank Matsaert (CEO, Trademark East Africa) spoke about the transformative power of digitisation for trade, which creates a robust inclusive and sustainable operating framework for trade besides the creation of innovate disruptive models of operations. It also introduces data-driven, and automation-enabled trade systems and procedures. Additionally, Matsaert mentioned the redefinition of geospatial differences and the blurring of physical borders as results of these transformative powers.

According to Matsaert, the downside of these developments is the risk of increasing the digital divide due to many sectors of the economy in developing countries being weak and informal. In these contexts, alternative technologies are often accompanied with cybersecurity risks or cannot be supported effectively due to the lack of infrastructure. He also mentioned the lack of appropriate legal frameworks as being a limit to regional cross-border trade, for example due to restrictions imposed on cross-border money transfers. He therefore identified the risk of developing countries being locked into commodities and labour sectors of trade.

He further said that in order to avoid the digital divide becoming a permanent situation, solutions must be found to incorporate informal sectors into digital trade. Herein, he identified regional and shared regional capacities as being a good way forward. Bilateral agreements, especially on money transfers across borders, could also alleviate the situation. Additionally, Matsaert explained that incorporating these sectors would also increase efficiency and help reduce corruption.

Dr Burcu Kilic (Legal and Policy Director at Public Citizen, Access to innovation, Knowledge and Information Program) pointed out that data should be analysed differently than regular commodities, given that it is created and produced by us, and often comprises sensitive information about our lives. This is particularly important as 'whoever controls our data, controls the future', in particular with the rise of automation and AI.

Kilic explained that we find ourselves in a similar situation as with the first emergence of personal computers. People understood that great changes and technological disruption was to come, but nobody was able to fully understand and foresee how this technology would affect their lives. In this context, AI might be the next big disruption that we cannot fully understand and whose effects on our everyday lives we cannot forsee.

She further noted that 'your rights do not flow with the data' and warned that cross-border flows of data do not sufficiently ensure the protection of privacy. She therefore spoke about the necessity of governments aligning to increase consumer protection and of the need for trade decision-makers to incorporate consumer protection frameworks in future agreements.

The event, which was held in the exact room where the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) had been negotiated before entering into force in January 1995, was organised by the Department of Communication and Media Research of the University of Zurich, the Global Economic Law Network, the Melbourne Law School, and the European Centre for International Political Economy.

The session was moderated by MrWilliam J. Drake (International Fellow and Lecturer, Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich) and explored the challenges that growing considerations for data localisation policies might present to the international trading system, and the transition to a global digital economy. After a few introductory remarks, the moderator introduced talking points of the session, the costs and potential benefits of data localisation for developing countries; the extent of fit between data localisation and exception provisions in trade agreements; and the potential utility of informal intergovernmental, and inclusive multistakeholder dialogues can provide in data localisation that parallel and enhance trade community efforts.

MsMona Farid Badran (Digital Development Consultant, and Associate Professor of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University), who recently published her research on the “Economic impact of data localization in five selected African countries”, said that data localisation provisions would, as of now, affect developed nations more than it would affect developing nations, given their deeper interconnection with the global economy. Regardless, Badran said that data localisation would increase the cost of goods and therefore decrease national income, where these types of policies are implemented.

The economist further mentioned that benefits of data localisation in helping overcome economic issues, and solving privacy and data protection issues are often exaggerated. This is because storing data locally or nationally can be extremely costly in developing countries due to lack of infrastructure, electric power and other resources. She added that data storage policies would not facilitate creation of jobs but instead rely on very few high-skilled workers to be implemented.

The speaker presented the results of an empirical study which pointed to a potential 1,8% drop in the EU's GDP, if a limitation on cross-border flow of data were to be implemented. Therefore, imposing data localisation regulations tends to cut down the benefits of free flow of data, which reduces production costs; increases productivity; supports the creation of new global value chains; and is a driving force for the creation of new jobs worldwide.

In light of this, Badran highlighted the importance of striking a balance between privacy policies and maintaining cross-border flows of data. She mentioned the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's (APEC) approach which enables free flows of data between APEC member states, even if governments do not formally recognise the other country’s privacy regulations, all the while guaranteeing a certain standard of privacy and data protection. This framework also suggests that businesses are held accountable for data protection by independent oversight entities. The EU-US Privacy Shield was mentioned as a further example of privacy protection models.

Finally, Badran underlined the necessity of well-drafted localisation rules, and reminded the audience that many African states had enacted laws on privacy and data protection this year.

Mr Daniel Crosby (Partner at King & Spalding) explained that in his view, no new regulations on data localisation were needed given that the GATS already covers the free flow of services, and data by extension. He mentioned that countries wishing to apply restrictions to data flows for specific reasons are already entitled to do so under the current GATS provisions as long as they are reasonable. He therefore saw no need for the creation of new regulations regarding data flows in the context of a WTO rule.

Additionally, he mentioned the risk of unfair treatment of other nations due to protectionist policies, and cautioned against the risk of countries trying to hide regulatory exceptions under the scope of data localisation.

Similarly to Badran, Crosby also explained that higher costs applied for data localisation would result in higher costs for consumers and businesses, and harm economies rather than help them. He further said that, especially in developing countries, infrastructure and equipment would also need to be imported, as hardware is usually not locally produced, further adding to trade imbalances.

Ms Lee Tuthill (Counsellor, Trade in Services Division, WTO) pointed out that data localisation laws do not necessarily solve concerns regarding fiduciary, law enforcement, privacy protection, industrial policy, cybersecurity and cyber sovereignty. She mentioned the Microsoft-Ireland lawsuit and explained that data localisation was not the main issue at heart, but that the solution rather lies with closer cooperation of law enforcement agencies.

With regards to exception rulings to WTO agreements, Tuthill explained that, no general statements about the acceptance or rejection of exception requests could be made, given that per WTO procedures, rulings on these requests are issued on a case-by-case basis with decisions are rendered by respective panels. The same procedures apply to regulations that might be used to veil restrictions for WTO members.

Ms Neha Mishra (Researcher, Global Economic Law Network, and Doctoral Candidate, University of Melbourne), spoke about the importance of understanding the institutional framework when analysing data flows. Given that these flows occur on so many different levels, locally and globally, it is important to take the complexity of the matter into account, and separate trade disputes from other fields.

The researcher pointed out that the debate about the benefits of data localisation is currently lacking empirical evidence, and is being carried out on a more ideological basis. Speaking about the costs of these policies, Mishra reminded the audience about the risks these policies posed to the open and free nature of the Internet, and cautioned against the fragmentation of the latter, due to increased difficulties in communication of information and collaboration mechanisms that benefit from the open nature of the Internet.

Similarly to the general debate about data localisation, Mishra mentioned that exception rulings should also rely on more empirical data. According to her, these findings are essential in measuring improvements, and determining whether they occurred in relation to stronger data localisation rules. Finally, the panellist highlighted the importance of WTO panels that do not shy away from these difficult discussions, avoiding forum shopping and creating a web of contradictory regulatory frameworks within different organisations.

The moderator of the session, Mr Rajeev Kher (Distinguished Fellow, RIS), assessed that developing countries are currently at a disadvantage in the digital economy, due to the lack of capacity and access to technology. He emphasised some of the challenges that countries face with the increasingly important role of platforms; the rising value of data; the difficulty to clearly define concepts which are relevant for competition policy and law, such as the relevant market; and pricing challenges in the context of network externalities.

Ms Rashmi Banga (Senior Economic Affairs Officer & Officer-in-Charge, Unit of Economic Cooperation and Integration among Developing Countries, UNCTAD) spoke of key findings from the ‘Trade and development report 2018: power, platforms and the free trade delusion’. According to her, trade is increasingly concentrated in the hands of big firms, which have become leaders in global value chains (GVCs). Capital share and profit are rising, but labour share is falling, even in developed countries. This will contribute to more social inequality in the future. Network effects will create ‘super platforms,’ strengthened by data that is given to them for free. If there is no competition regulation, the potential benefits for developing countries will be reaped by large platforms in reality. Competition policy has been historically introduced to protect consumers, but currently, it should protect and preserve market structures. Banga recognised that some countries do not have the capacity to economically explore their own data. Against this background, UNCTAD is proposing a ten-point progressive South-South Digital Cooperation for Industrialization: A Regional Integration Agenda. She warned that economic divides could widen in the future, if developing countries do not get access to digital capacity and infrastructure.

Ms Vahini Naidu (Foreign Economic Representative, South African Permanent Mission to the WTO in Geneva) emphasised that the digital economy and e-commerce are highly asymmetrical. The ‘winner takes most’ or ‘winner takes all’ dynamics and network effects benefit first-movers and standard-setters. She mentioned that there are voids in legislation and oversight, sharing insights from the African context. In South Africa, the impact of disruptive technologies, such as over-the-top technologies (OTT), can be felt in sectors like broadcasting, and there is a tendency of ‘replacing' or ‘displacing’ traditional industries by making them redundant, as the example of Uber shows. She opined that initiatives to regulate tech giants, put in place in the EU for example, are positive, but would be out of reach for smaller African countries. She concluded that the debate at the WTO needs to be refocused on how to promote development.

Mr Ansgar Koene (Senior Research Fellow, Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute at University of Nottingham) addressed the potential that algorithms and machine learning have to influence market behaviour. Algorithms make it hard to identify collusion, for example. Third party sellers use algorithms to set the prices they charge on Amazon.com, which can produce characteristics of undue coordination. Negotiations at the WTO, such as forbidding forced access to the source code, should not negatively hamper measures taken to enhance the transparency of algorithms as a side effect. Koene mentioned various examples of discrimination that reveal historical bias embedded in datasets. He also alerted for the dangers of ‘code reuse’ by programmers. Reuse multiplies the sneaky introduction of bugs and vulnerabilities that can span across different products.

Mr Abhijit Das (Head, Centre for WTO Studies, India) focused on anti-competition and market-distorting practices; using big discounts given by platforms; financial assistance provided by platforms to vendors; and platforms determining some strict conditions to vendors, such as the use specific packaging, as examples. Some practices could be tackled by current competition law, while others would require an update in competition law.

Das mentioned that innovators in India suffer when they refuse to sell their businesses to large tech companies. These companies usually provide start-ups with non-expensive access to data and cloud services, but withdraw their support if start-ups refuse to sell.

Questions were asked from the floor on the role of competition authorities, the ways in which the WTO could tackle digital monopolies and competition, and the possibility to consider some digital resources as ‘public commons’, which could be used by different players, even if they are competitors.

Banga opined that in a scenario of uncertainty, countries should not abide themselves by new rules; they should preserve their policy space and first try to understand the effects of platforms and the digital economy on markets.

Naidu mentioned she was not aware of work that has been done at the WTO on digital competition. Proposals tabled by member states in the context of the plurilateral discussions on e-commerce have not included competition issues.

Koene agreed that there is need for a mapping of the elements that should be considered public utilities in the digital space.

The panel focused on the various applications of blockchain within the context of trade and fostering sustainability. It debated current applications but was predominantly looking into both the short-and-long-term future concerning the applications and implications of the technology.

Mr David Shrier (Associate Fellow, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; CEO, Distilled Analytics) focused on the possibilities of tracing supply chains using blockchain. He cautioned that a crucial point is the data that is fed into the blockchain application and that it will be important to ensure that the data is of high quality. He highlighted that there are five elements to describe data quality: relevancy, recency, range, robustness, and reliability. These five Rs ensure that the data going into the system when using blockchain for managing trade and supply chains is suitable and of high quality. He also pointed out that this can be made less labour-intensive by using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the data input. In response to a question form the audience, he emphasised that the advantage of blockchain, in comparison to existing technologies, is that the information is stored in a distributed way. This means that many copies of the same data base are maintained and that the copy-holders communicate with each other when changes are made. This makes the system more fraud resistant. However, he also emphasised that blockchain is not magic; it will not solve the basic problems that are faced by every computer system, such as ‘garbage in and garbage out’.

Ms Zalfa El-Harake (Zalfa & Company) described herself as being an expert in supply chains, not in blockchain. However, she emphasised that the ability to understand when it is useful to apply blockchain to a supply chain is crucial. She used a case from the agricultural sector to illustrate the key advantages, such as traceability and sustainability, of blockchain. She emphasised that you cannot cheat or change a blockchain, unless many people can be convinced to do this at the same time. This makes the technology very useful for a number of applications. In terms of the uptake of the technology, she stressed that multinational companies need to be convinced with well thought-out proposals that clearly show the competitive advantage and a cost-benefit analysis of the application of the technology. All in all, El-Harake described blockchain as a new technical solution that can be easily implemented in the field via mobile phone access for example.

Mr Mac MacGary (Chairman Sweetbridge) described his organisation as an open source foundation that is building second layer protocols for blockchain. He explained how a couple of questions drive his current work, such as: How do we radically reduce costs throughout the supply chain (improving upon cloud and P2P)? How can we improve liquidity by freeing up capital? How do we make the trade system fairer, by using a distributed technology that alters the power balance within supply chains? He admitted that many cloud computing applications offer many of the same benefits as blockchain. However, blockchain offers additional advantages because it creates economic incentives to align behaviour across the supply chain, such as tokenising goods to ensure that a fair price is paid. Further, blockchain applications can be useful to eliminate intermediaries and share the resulting profit with consumers and producers. Similarly, bockchain might also be useful in eliminating foreign currency costs in trade transactions.

Mr Jazz Kang (Market Strategy Executive, Head of Trade Finance and Trade Logistic Solutions, Swisscom Blockchain) strongly advocated for the adoption of blockhain technologies. He emphasised that trust in the technology, which is still lacking, can be created by working through reputable organisations, such as Swisscom Blockchain. Kang went on to identify a few relevant use-cases for blockchain: supply chain management (auditing and managing changes), reducing the use of paper in cross border transactions and creating greater efficiency. He also stressed that one of the key issues lies in the adoptation of the technology, which requires bringing everyone, including competitors, to the table. In general, Kang predicts a wide uptake of blockchain technology, especially in the banking sector and that its use will become available for everyday banking customers within the next few years.

Mr Marcelo Garcia (Crypto Explorers) stressed that in business transactions, efficiency is becoming more and more relevant, especially where resources are very limited. Blockchain will be crucial with regard to trade (supply chains). He argued that the technology enables establishing a kind of automatable trust and stressed that ‘everything that can be automated, will be automated’, to for example, eliminate the need for intermediaries.

The workshop was organised by the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the WTO, and the Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO. It addressed the post-2009 financial crisis that left developing countries with persistent and large trade finance gaps, and aimed to discuss the eventuality of new technologies such as e-payments, blockchain, fintech, and helping bridging the gaps.

Moderated by Mr Marc Auboin (Counsellor, Economic Research, WTO and Secretary, WTO Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance), the session was introduced by Mr Mohammad Q. Haqjo (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the I.R. Of Afghanistan to the WTO, Chairman of the WTO Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance). He structured his speech around two key areas: the reasons behind the discussions on trade and finance in the WTO; and the role and mandate of the Working Group on Trade, Finance and Debt. First, he explained the reasons behind the trade, finance and debt discussions at the WTO. There is a deep interlink between trade and finance; 8% of today’s global trade has been financed through financial institutions. At present, everything is divided and institutionalised to facilitate trade, including for those struggling in accessing finance. Second, he talked about the Working Group on Trade, Finance and Debt which was established at the ministerial meeting in Doha, with the aim of studying how trade can best contribute to solving the problems of debt and finance. The group is currently focusing on ways to address the financial gap in developing countries, due to the following problematic variables: 60% of rejections in accessing finance are to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), moreover, banks have decreased their presence worldwide, creating a financial service gap, while regulations have become stricter, decreasing bank-to-bank transactions and relations. As a result, less money has been exchanged. The market is only for local banks, however, local banks in developing countries are lacking in human and institutional capacity. With this regard, he explained how a dialogue platform with private banks has helped in providingé loans for developing countries, and to the efforts put in place by the WTO in training professionals in 85 countries worldwide. Finally, he stated that the knowledge gap and digital divide are still the main obstacles in front of the implementation of technology for trade finance.

The second panellist, Mr Jean-François Lambert (Chief Executive Officer, LambertCommodities Inc.), talked about challenges small businesses in developing countries face. He shared his concerns regarding the capacity gap of local banks in providing access to finance. He argued that the trade gap persists as well, since currently the main lending activities are made to the same big companies, stating that 'banks have forgotten big parts of the world'. Moreover, he continued by saying that large banks do not want to take the risks and responsibilities that come with supporting local banks, and that political instability present in certain developing countries could also be a factor. Concluding his speech, he expressed his view saying that the current obstacles and challenges are not only represented in the financial gap, but also by a cultural gap.

The third panellist Ms Michelle Chivunga Nsanzumuco (Regional Advisor, British Blockchain Association; Executive Education Manager, University of Surrey Business School), addressed the topic of bridging the financial gap with new technologies, especially blockchain. The opportunities that blockchain creates are strictly related to the concept of creating value. She argued that blockchain is an enabling technology for everyone: it allows people to create their own value, such as M-Pesa did in Kenya; opening the market to local people; providing identity to people, and SMEs with digital identities, allowing them access to the market. Finally, she stated that despite the fact that blockchain is in its initial stages, there are significant uses already in place, and the way business is done will be increasingly affected by such technology.

The fourth panellist, Mr Vinay Mandonca (Global Head of Products, HSBC Trade and Receivable Finance), expressed the need for a paradigm shift in the way credit is assessed. The digitalisation of transactions through blockchain has positive effects on credits assessment, as 'visibility is a proven point'. He argued that it comes down to the concept of transparency of flows. Consequently, a question could be raised: Who is going to share the information, and with whom? In this context, blockchain represents a good opportunity because it does not require a database, and utilises decentralisation and democratisation for all processes. It creates the possibility of having a network of networks. Singapore’s new National Trade Platform is already using blockchain and benefiting from it.

The final panellist, Ms Emmanuelle Ganne (Counsellor, Economic Research, WTO), briefly commented on the points raised during the discussion. She argued that blockchain can be extremely helpful in building trust between actors, and providing more accurate traceability. However, traditional trade finance has not yet completely moved to the application of such technologies. With this regard, Ganne stressed two main points. First, blockchain technology guarantees the information that has been uploaded, but it does not guarantee the authenticity of such information. Second, is the question of interoperability; there are various blockchain technologies that are not interoperable with each other. Blockchain works best when the information is shaped through the same model.

After this overview of blockchain technology, she addressed the topic of new technologies enabling traders to move to a peer-to-peer model, without engaging with a bank. She argued that there are already fintech that leverage technology, and help SMEs to build their trade history; however, despite the new opportunities that technology creates, we are still trying them with the aim of benefitting from the intrinsic characteristics of such technologies.

Chaired by Mr Marcos Troyjo (Director, BRICLab Columbia University), the panel discussed options to better equip trade negotiators to represent their countries’ interests and level the global playing field at various trade negotiation tables. It explored opportunities for trade curators to interact with technology leaders for the development of trade-related artificial intelligence (AI tools). In particular, the panel discussed the Cognitive Trade Advisor (CTA), a new tool in the area of AI-powered tools for (trade) negotiations that comes out of the work of the Intelligent Tech & Trade Initiative (ITT).

Mr Daniel Feffer (Chairman, ICC Brazil) emphasised that developing countries still face inequalities at trade negotiation tables. Since increased trade means increased prosperity, it is crucial that these countries step-up their efforts and that other countries intensify their efforts to support them. Feffer argued that if we are observing the advances in AI, and in particular the contributions that IBM Watson, an AI platform, was able to make in the field of medicine, we also need to wonder how AI can support the work of negotiators, especially in the field of trade. Feffer described how the CTA was developed as a prototype. IBM Watson was taught to ‘read’ trade agreements and to be able to answer queries from trade negotiators. The intention is that trade negotiators can save time on research and spend more time on building the agreements. With this kind of augmented intelligence, Feffer argued, better trade deals and win-win solutions have become more achievable.

Mr Bonapas Onguglo (Head of Trade, Analysis Branch, UNCTAD) argued that it is important to encourage the UN to use new technologies. He pointed out that trade and technology are a catalyst for the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and that AI needs to be explored in this context in particular, as far as it allows developing countries to benefit. Countries need a permanent supporting mechanism for trade negotiations in order to level the playing field when financial and human capacities are insufficient. Trade negotiators in particular face the challenge of having to be aware of a vast amount of technical details within complex agreements that can often span more than a thousand pages. Similarly, the institutional memory of past negotiations needs to be preserved in cases where negotiators often change. AI can be a factor in addressing these challenges.

Ms Ana Lizano (Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the WTO) brought her perspective as a negotiator to the table. In terms of trade negotiations, she observed a fast evolution and continuous disruptions by technologies such as blockchain and AI. She argued that new technology can play a big role in finding better trade agreements, automating ports and borders, reducing shipping costs, and increasing bilateral trade. In terms of negotiation support, AI-powered tools, she argued, can present suggestions and scenarios to enable humans to make better decisions. She also raised potential points for consideration, such as preserving the knowledge of experienced negotiators, engaging in meaningful public private partnerships, and designing new tools collaboratively and making them available to the wider WTO-membership.

Ms Julia Seiermann (Associate Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD) emphasised the need for levelling the playing field between developed and developing countries, and to work towards greater equality. Technology can help with this, but there is also the danger of exacerbating existing inequalities. There is a need to address the lack of resources, especially on the side of small and developing countries. The CTA could save resources and enable a more productive use of existing ones for trade negotiators and countries. The key, according to Seiermann, will be to make the technology and the data available to everyone and to tackle areas where data is lacking. Lastly, Seiermann emphasised that it will be up to humans, not machines, to decide which outcomes – such as trade, economy, or tackling inequalities – should be the main focus.

Mr Gabriel Petrus (Executive Director, ICC Brazil) argued that technology can build trust in the multilateral system of trade negotiations by addressing the lack of transparency (through public and open source tools). It can help in the reform of the WTO and enable a new kind of trade negotiation. The CTA is a tool that uses advances in AI to increase the productivity of trade negotiators. Petrus pointed out that the tool is useful in helping negotiators prepare better, building better strategies, and saving time in preparation and research for the negotiations. At the moment, the CTA focuses on so-called 'rules of origins' in the trade treaties, but there are plans to extend the tools to other areas with high relevance for trade negotiations. Petrus also stressed that the tool is ultimately always shaped by human intelligence.

Additional comments provided by Ms Lucia Maduro focused on the need for modernising the rules of origin within MERCUSOR. She argued that the CTA can be a useful tool in tackling the challenge of complexity and to ultimately develop a new model for rules of origin in trade treaties. Ms Sandra Rios pointed out that the benefits of the tool need to be clear, as well as the ambitions with regard to the scope of the tool. She emphasised that the tool itself does not provide results, but that it can help in levelling the playing field. Mr Nikolaus Schultze stressed that the CTA can be a big help for developing countries with smaller negotiation teams.

Questions raised during Q&A included: Who controls the data and who owns the data? Is the source code publicly available? Given that there is a fundamental problem with trust in algorithmic decision-making, does this make the tool potentially untrustworthy or unreliable?

The four panellists focused on the opportunities as well as challenges brought about by e-commerce for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), and set out to explore ‘digital de-colonisation for social benefit and successful global cross-border trade’.

Mr Andrew Ure (Head of Trade and Economic Affairs, Google Asia-Pacific) focused on the digital innovations that drive MSMEs, and argued that it is now easier to reach global markets. He mentioned that various digital innovations allow for easily available current market information, making it easier for MSMEs to find and integrate this information into their supply chains. Increases in computational power, combined with the low costs of cloud computing, further support these businesses. Platforms are crucial to reach customers around the world, and there is a symbiotic relationship between these platforms and MSMEs.

Ms Rupa Ganguli (Founder & CEO, inclusivetrade.com) pointed out that MSMEs often lack the resources necessary to access global markets, in particular the right information, routes of access, and tools that are tailored to their size and specific needs. She emphasised that collaboration is key. For instance, working through one platform can save MSMEs important resources, while increasing trust of global customers. In principle, digital tools allow for shops to stay open 24/7, and reach customers worldwide. However, many barriers for MSMEs still exist, such as a lack of customised banking solutions. Many regulations and tools for business are still geared towards big business, especially when access to global markets is concerned. There is also a prevailing assumption that businesses grow locally and only go global after they have reached a certain size. However, this is no longer true and new solutions for MSMEs are needed.

Mr Jake Colvin (Executive Director, NFTC's Global Innovation Forum) pointed out that there is a fundamental change taking place with regard to who benefits from global trade. MSMEs have started to benefit, and make important contributions by creating jobs locally through doing business globally. They increasingly use Internet-enabled technologies to run their businesses efficiently. Colvin highlighted the importance of connecting globally minded entrepreneurs with policymakers. Some key questions were: How do governments get to hear about this new perspective that emerges from MSMEs empowered by digital tools? How can they support MSMEs by fostering the right policy landscape?

Ms Kimberley Botwright (Community Lead, Trade and Investment, World Economic Forum) began by pointing out that the future of trade lies in e-commerce. However, trading costs for small businesses that wish to become global players are still substantial. She highlighted five key pillars to enable e-commerce: logistics, payment, digital customs, regulatory coherence, and e-transaction rules. She also emphasised the need for increased collaboration in regulatory landscapes, technical assistance, and public-private partnerships. Botwright identified these as systemic problems, and noted the importance of scaling up support for MSMEs, in order to achieve systemic effects. One way of doing this is by learning from how other systemic challenges have been tackled.

The moderator, Ms Lucy Hockings (host and presenter, BBC), highlighted that collaboration and connectivity stand out as key elements in creating better solutions for MSMEs and within this context, the panellists pointed to further challenges and solutions. Rupa mentioned that MSMEs need to be able to sell single products, rather than being forced to wholesale on global markets, and that digital solutions play a key role in this. Colvin emphasised how platforms can be used to create visibility and trust in MSMEs. Botwright pointed out that one of the challenges is understanding various problems faced by MSMEs when the issue is sometimes so complex that entrepreneurs have been prevented from exploring global markets in the first place. Ure mentioned challenges in affordability, and Rupa highlighted additional costs related to unconnected banking solutions, and inappropriate regulatory frameworks.

Questions from participants also pointed to issues of regulatory coherence. Challenges regarding a demand for free data flows in the context of developing countries who are just emerging in e-commerce were also highlighted. One commentator suggested to look at cases in which existing solutions for physical issues related to trade can also be applied to digital space.

The moderator of the session, Mr Pascal Kerneis (Managing Director, ESF), highlighted the issue of the rules of the e-commerce multilateral initiative. He stated the need for a commitment from the member states of the WTO, and flexibility on e-commerce debates.

Mr Alvaro Cedeno Molinari (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the WTO) noted the historic journey of e-commerce, starting with the WTO's Work Programme on E-commerce that was launched in 1998, and the impact the Nairobi Ministerial conference (MC11) had on e-commerce initiatives in 2015. He also higlighted the goals of the e-commerce multilateral initiative, which are skills and capacity development in ICTs and e-commerce.

Molinari emphasised the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have major challenges, and said that e-commerce is going beyond the electronic transaction services. He mentioned that although the same language is being spoken during discussions on e-commerce, the true problem lies in the lack of implementation of the decisions taken. According to Molinari, developing countries do not need to go though the same long journey taken by developed countries. He concluded by mentioning that facilitators of trade were technological materials, such as software and artificial intelligence (AI).

Ms Xiaolin Chai (Director of Trade in Services Division, WTO) started by explaining the role of telecommunications in making e-commerce development possible. She said that during the first years of e-commerce debates, technological issues were present. However, now the challenge for governments lies in tackling e-commerce policies. She pointed that during MC11, they discussed e-commerce, but there is still a difference in implementation levels.

According to Chai, MC12 would be the occassion to tackle the problem of momentum on e-commerce, stating that transparency is good for e-commerce debates between member states. E-commerce can be developed with commitment on infrastructure, and financial services. She concluded by emphasising the important role of e-commerce in the economic development of both developing and developed countries. Generally, there is flexibility for developing countries to allow implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

Mr Hosuk Lee-Makiya (Director, The European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)) said that there are many reasons to discuss e-commerce issues in multilateral meetings. According to Makiya, e-commerce is already multilateral; whether it is data protection, digital channels, payment for services, or other topics. He added that we need to recognise the impact of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA), in affecting the future of e-commerce debates.

He mentioned areas that needed focus, such as data usage and localisation and connectivity, as well as specific digital taxation to digital trade. Makiya said that digitalisation needs to be viewed beyond e-commerce, emphasising that we can not resist the digitalisation of the economy. He noted that it is helping SMEs grow their businesses, and concluded by stating that AI is not a concept, but a real digital material that can transform the global economy.

Mr Adriaan Scheiris (EU Public Affairs Manager, UPS) started by explaining the SME trends in e-commerce, noting that there is a rise in businesses every year because of lower transaction costs, higher Internet penetration rates, and the impact of the WTO TFA.

He posed the question of how to enable and support e-commerce globally and concluded that data flows, privacy, simplified documentations, but most importantly, trust, were the crucial answers.

The session was organised by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC), and focused on issues and opportunities for workers and union members in light of digitalisation.

The moderator, MrGeorgios Altintzis (Policy Officer, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)), opened the session by sharing the news of Amazon’s recent decision to grant their warehouse workers in the US, a minimum hourly wage of USD$15. This decision came after persistent pressure from both the unions and the public. However, the company decided not to extend these salaries to delivery workers.

Altintzis further introduced the idea that greed will be an issue to be addressed in e-commerce. From a union’s perspective, he called for 'making unionisation sexy again', and for more governmental involvement in issues created by digital developments. The moderator urged governments to keep e-commerce out of trade agreements, at least for the time being.

Other issues identified by Altintzis included, the market power concentration being a threat to economic freedom; the creation of financial bubbles; the impact of social networks on humans; and the effects of digitalisation on democracy.

Ms Anna Byhovskaya (Policy Officer, Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD) said that there are three layers of data which need to be kept in mind:

How is data collected (i.e. through online communication, sensors, etc.)?

How is data processed?

How is data repurposed?

She further spoke about the fragmentation of value chains due to digital enhancements, and identified the trackability of services as a great improvement, but also a threat to workers’ rights. Workers are now constantly exposed to their performance being tracked and analysed. Use of data can become relevant for human resource processes, since this information can be used as grounds for hiring or firing an employee. The challenge posed by this development is that workers currently have very limited capacities to defend themselves against these practices, as they have no clearly defined rights of accessing this data.

With regards to global value chains, Byhovskaya spoke about the opportunities that blockchain technology brings, and the improvement in transparency it could bring to value chains around the globe.

Given the short-lived and rapidly changing nature of digital developments, the speaker highlighted the importance of being able to create ex ante regulations; citing expert views which criticise the EU general data protection regulation (GDPR) for already being outdated on certain points just shortly after having been adopted. Another regulatory measure that Byhovskaya identified was the enforcement of transparency standards under which companies have to disclose the use and purpose of collected data.

Mr Victor Figueroa (International Transport Workers’ Federation) mentioned the use of sensors and other information for enhanced trackability, and spoke about their extensive application in the transport and logistics sectors. These massive amounts of information can be used to discipline workers; benchmark workers against each other; and lead to a new form of efficiency maximisation technique, also referred to as 'digital Taylorism'.

However, Figueroa stated that labour itself is no longer a simple productive task, as it creates data. This information emitted by employees’ work must be compensated, especially in a context where data is used to analyse which processes to automate. He further explained that artificial intelligence (AI) will also have a great impact on the workforce, creating new kinds of problems, such as the question of how to interrogate a machine-based decision.

The moderator led the discussion towards the lack of worker protection within the business models of online platforms - such as UBER or Airbnb - which put consumers in direct contact with the service provider. Besides the risks, such as the absence of social security plans, tax deficits or training deficits, Byhovskaya identified the lack of portability of data of self-employed workers from one platform to another as a further problem. Figueroa explained that this phenomenon is due to platforms by big companies attracting customers with free services, but making it difficult to leave for another service. He stated that there is a 'supercharged tendency towards monopoly in the field of digital'. This dynamic is also applicable to service providers, given that an UBER driver for example, might not be able to transfer his ratings and recommendations to another operator.

The panellists agreed that these barriers are issues that need to be addressed by governments in order to force companies to take responsibility for their workers, be it through stronger competition laws, the application of national jurisdiction and taxation to services delivered in a country, or - in countries where it is not already the case - by giving self-employed workers the right to unionise.

Figueroa mentioned that in the UK, they are considering models for the greater democratisation of data. Ideas range from the creation of a digital Commonwealth - under which a databank would be made accessible to public institutions and startups for a cost - to the creation of a network similar to the BBC which would have an oversight mechanism; and various types of social media platforms being regulated by an ethical charter.

The moderator, Mr Andreas Klasen (Head of Institute for Trade and Innovation (IfTI), Offenburg University), started the session by reading a statement on behalf of the director of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), highlighting the important role that trade plays in economic growth and development, and explaining the mission of the ITFC. He emphasised that the use of technology in global value chains (GVCs) is able to support agriculture, by facilitating transportation and traceability; reducing information and coordination constraints; and reducing the cost of trade.

Klasen asked Mr Torbjörn Fredriksson (Chief, ICT Policy Section, United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD)) to comment on the impact of digitisation on GVCs. Fredriksson started by highlighting the importance of the agriculture sector in many developing countries. According to him, there are three types of digitisation:

Thin integration, which is the use of digital technology facilitation for better coordination of the GVCs. However, it does not deeply transform the activity (e.g. use of e-mail, mobile, spreadsheets by actors).

Platform-based integration applied to price dissemination. In this case, ICTs support the dissemination of information in agricultural exchanges. They tend to be more successful when they offer additional access to a broader range of services, and capacity building assistance.

Full digital integration, which means creating data-driven value chains. It enables easy tracking of payment and risk of frauds, among other benefits. However, there is need for more research on the effects of these practices on inclusion. Trade unions, co-operatives, and other actors may be displaced in a scenario of full digital integration. Capacity building, training and technical assistance are necessary to avoid exclusion.

Mr Daniel Annerose (CEO, Manobi), stressed the need for not only market data collection, but the know-how to utilise data solutions to increase value in agriculture GVCs. In a chain, it is important that every player is known. There is scant data on farmers, how they produce, and their challenges for example. Data needs to be appropriated and used in a way that can specifically help the agriculture sector in least developed countries (LDCs).

An ITFC representative from the audience explained the mission of the organisation, which is to provide instruments to finance trade. Finance of agriculture represents 12% of the portfolio of the bank. However, some years ago, the ITFC mutated into a trade solution institution, that promotes trade development activities. Topics of interest to the ITFC's include: ways to improve agriculture and increase the volume of trade through collection of data, precision farming, and geo-mapping. He also spoke of the soil-mapping exercise conducted in five countries with the support of the ITFC.

Mr Henry Monceau (Permanent Observer of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie to the United Nations Office in Geneva), addressed the importance of technology for development. He highlighted that technology has broken down thematic compartmentalisation and silos, creating challenges. Developing countries also face difficulties storing data, and extracting value from it locally. Africa has a low retention capacity, and treats data in the regional level, for example.

Dr Ratnakar Adhikari (Executive Director, Executive Secretariat for the EIF), commented on the possibilities technology creates to positively transform the lives of farmers. Unfortunately, it is still developed countries that are reaping most of the benefits. For developing countries, there are challenges that need to be overcome, such as infrastructure, logistics, trade facilitation methods, payment solutions, and skills limitations.

The opening plenary debate of the WTO Public Forum 2018 was introduced and moderated by Mr Roberto Azevêdo (Director-General, WTO), who delivered a keynote speech on what trade will look like in 2030, while covering some of the topics that will be discussed during the forum, such as ways in which trade could become more sustainable. He argued that digital platforms are creating more ways of doing trade. Thus, a question could be raised: Is today's global trading system equipped to face the changing environment we live in? With this regard, the basic principles of the WTO apply, however, they are not enough. The evolution of technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI),

and blockchain is challenging the trade system by creating gaps in the current legal frameworks. Following this line, Azevêdo argued that 'we are not going to stop the evolution, but we can shape it'. Concluding his speech, he stated there is a need to start shaping technology, without waiting to completely understand all its specific elements.

The first panellist, Mr Erik Solheim (Executive Director, UN Environment, Under-Secretary-General), addressed the following question: How can trade help environmental sustainability? He stated that trade and environment are deeply interconnected, as both rely on the best use of resources. With this regard, Solheim gave the example of solar energy producing more energy than non-renewable sources in 2017, underlining that this could have not been done without trade. Despite the fact that global poverty has been reduced almost by half, the general perception is that it has doubled. This is due to a lack of publicity of data and achievements. Moreover, he advocated in favour of a triple win solution with benefits for people, by creating jobs; the environment, by promoting sustainability; and health. He stressed his point by using two examples; the introduction of ecotourism in Botswana, and the initiative in India to stop using plastic by 2022. Finally, he stressed that it is important to stop the fight between trade and environment.

The second panellist, Mr Jack Ma (Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group), addressed the question of trade in 2030 and shaping our perspectives. He shared his willingness to stop the fight between trade and environment, and adding that we need to stop worrying about the future and the evolution of technology. Ma argued that trade will definitely be different in 2030, but this should not represent a concern. He took the example of globalisation to show how at the beginning only few companies benefited from it, while today the percentage of businesses benefiting from globalisation has grown on a large scale. Following this line, he argued that in 2030 goods will not be referred to by which specific country they are made in, instead they will be referred to as 'made in the Internet' goods. Furthermore, he argued that e-commerce will be the leading force, and the service industry will create more jobs in the future than expected. For this to happen, it is important for small business to reach the market, logistics, technology and training. Finally, he concluded by stressing that we cannot stop technology, we need to embrace it: 'change yourself, but do not change technology'. During the Q&A session, Ma strongly argued in favour of innovation as a solution to current problems, stating that 'it is not the regulation that solves the problem, it is innovation'. By doing so, he underlined what, in his opinion, are the wrong ways of interference by governments. Solheim complemented the answer by showing the Norway system; where legislations are created after having open consultations with tech companies for an extended period, before implementation. With regards to the current US-China economic relations, Ma argued that tension is 'not good for anybody'. Tensions would affect not only US-China trade relations, but other countries as well. There is a need for collaboration in the creation of new jobs, and trade should not be the weapon to fight against each other.

The third panellist, Ms Laura Behrens Wu (CEO and co-founder, Shippo), addressed the question of how small businesses can be competitive. She explained how the idea of her business came into practice. One of the biggest challenges in e-commerce can be the shipping mechanisms for e-commerce stores. However, with the help of technologies in place, people can now ship directly from their online location to national and international locations. E-commerce does not have boundaries and technology represents a leverage for success.

The fourth panellist, Mr Tunde Kehinde (Co-founder, Lidya), addressed how to make finance available for small businesses. Explaining how technology can improve access to finance for small players, he talked about Lidya and its ability to finance small businesses within one day, using existing data. He stressed this point by saying that as long as small businesses in developing areas are good actors, and there is data to show that, they can get access to the bigger market. Finally, he argued that governments should create legal and policy frameworks that allow better clarity for engagement in the private sector.

The final panellist, Ms Christine Bliss (President, Coalition of Services Industries) talked about trends, collateral effects, and dangers of technology transforming trade by 2030. She argued that small economies will not grow unless trade and investment allow that. With regards to the service industry, she stated that services are integrated in all sectors, from insurance to financing. Moreover, with the advent of the Internet and the digital economy, there will be an increase in the importance of services for trade due to the evolution of AI, online platforms, and big data analytics, to cite a few. In terms of the collateral effects, the explosion of data flows should not be underestimated, with its close links to privacy and cybersecurity concerns. Answering to a question from the audience, she further stated that services will represent the new jobs of the future.

Finally, the Q&A discussion covered different topics, such as the future of currencies, and the use of cryptocurrencies in the future. It was stated that they will have to be supported by governments.

The moderator, Mr Roberto Azevêdo (Director-General, WTO), welcomed the panellists and talked about how the lack of Internet access is a barrier to trade in many regions, especially in developing countries. He stressed the need for engaging in the debate and the importance of inclusiveness for the digital revolution. He also emphasised that the group of 71 member states of the WTO submitted proposals aimed at advancing exploratory e-commerce work.

Azevêdo also noted that the business community has a big role to play in addressing e-commerce and data flow issues. He said that there is still a gap between the developing and developed countries. He thanked the World Economic Forum (WEF) and asked their president to speak on cross-border e-commerce.

Mr Børge Brende (President, WEF) noted that this initiative is not the solution, but that it gives e-commerce the opportunity to evolve. According to him, there is inequality in debates and engagement in e-commerce, however efforts are being made to overcome this. Brende highlighted the role of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and said that they support public-private sector collaboration on e-commerce development priorities. He emphasised that we need to shape the fourth industrial revolution to benefit everyone and meet the objectives of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Mr Jack Ma (Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group) representing the Electronic World Trade Platform(eWTP) started his speech by thanking Azevêdo for the opportunity to participate in this event. He mentioned that in the last two decades in China, e-commerce was crucial in developing the country's economy. Ma stated that globalisation and digital technologies have contributed to e-commerce, to the point that small businesses can now reach global consumers. E-commerce will be beneficial to 80% of the developing countries in 2030 and beyond.

We need to reform to create a more business-friendly future, and e-commerce needs WTO member states to decrease regulation to make global business thrive. According to him, inclusiveness gives small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more opportunities to conduct effective business. The future rules should be driven by the business and private sectors. Finally, Ma noted that in order to make sure that e-commerce is developing, we need to build logistics, digital payments, and other aspects of infrastructure.

Mr Mukhisa Kituyi (Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)) noted that we need to advocate for digital trade and investment, and against the digital divide. He mentioned initiatives for entrepreneurial young people and their role in the digital economy. Kituyi also noted the positive impact of mobile money for consumers in Kenya. He said that leadership is very important to highlight the importance of e-commerce for developing countries. Connectivity without digital skills is a waste of opportunity.

Ms Frances Lisson (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the WTO) said that they are developing national policies in order to make sure e-commerce is moving forward. She noted that the digital divide is still a reality in the Pacific region. She also noted that the WTO has a central role in helping tackle the challenges in e-commerce in developing countries.

Mr Robert Dufter Salama (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malawi to the WTO) said that the least developed countries (LDCs) face many challenges in e-commerce. According to Salama, there is a need to create jobs for young Africans, and this can be done by bridging the digital divide. In developing countries, the lack of power and electricity, which is a barrier to Internet access; a big gap in digital skills; and inadequate exchange of currency, are major roadblocks in front of e-commerce.

As an example, Salama pointed to the postal system in Malawi which is not well organised, and to the need for a master plan for Africa to tackle e-commerce issues. He concluded by stating that LDCs need to put in place information and communication technologies (ICT) capabilities to take better advange of e-commerce opportunities.

The moderator, Ms Kristina Olausson (Policy Officer, European Telecommunication Network Operator's Association (ETNO)), opened the session by stating that the disparities in e-commerce between Eastern and Western European countries are decreasing.

This is reflected in the growing interest in e-commerce by governments, which started more intense discussion on this issue at the World Trade Organization.

Mr David Lawrence Lee (Chief Executive Officer, European Business Association Georgia (EBA)), sought to inform the audience about the relevant updates in e-commerce in Georgia. As Lawrence Lee stressed, e-commerce is relatively underdeveloped but there are bright prospects for future developments. Georgia has high 4G coverage and the ease of doing business in the country is one of the highest in Europe. He remarked that the necessary foundations for e-commerce are in place, but that the uptake is yet to come. The main challenge is the lack of appropriate infrastructure, and startups often struggle to find funding. Lawrence Lee said that the EBA, which has 60 members, is helping their members to get more involved in e-commerce. The market is currently Europe-focused and there is potential for further co-operation between Georgia and Europe. As examples of good practice, he mentioned the GeorgianPost and Maleo. However, before advancing its co-operation with Europe, Georgia should set a new strategic path in economic development and clarify its objectives towards Russia and Europe.

Mr Tornike Jobava (Project Manager, Broadband for Development , Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA)), presented several projects implemented by GITA on strengthening e-commerce. Agreeing with Lawrence Lee, Jobava highlighted the lack of infrastructure and access as the main issues for e-commerce in Georgia. High installation costs and the lack of relevant skills pose a challenge for doing business online. According to Jobava, e-commerce capacity development programmes have proven to be a good first step in helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be online. Tailored training programmes for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMs) have enabled upcoming entrepreneurs to maximise the benefits of e-commerce in Georgia and in Europe.

Mr Jonathan Cave (Senior Tutor in Economics, Warwick University, and Senior Research Fellow at Rand Europe), introduced a wider perspective on the relationship between developing countries and e-commerce. Cave said that 'There is a fragile balance between e-commerce and commerce' that can be distorted if consumers are not aware of 'channel biases'. 'Channel biases' refer to the preference of one type of purchasing, and e-commerce should not fully replace commerce, but complement it. Being aware of the 'consumer culture' is important and e-commerce as a policy objective should be a carefully used tool. Opening up the market for e-commerce in developing countries can also damage the local entrepreneurs once big global players enter the market. According to Cave, international development expertise and local experimentation should work together to find solutions that are country specific.

In terms of improving the infrastructure, Cave highlighted an example from the United Kingdom, where better infrastructure led to faster broadband and increased the digital divide between the rural and urban areas.As main challenges to converging the Eastern and Western European markets, Cave underscored several points. First, in the European context, price discrimination based on geographical location should be addressed. Second, countries need to enable competition, but not at the expense of the consumer protection policies. Third, regulators should be aware of the dangers of obscuring the information needed for assessment, as well as of the hidden impact of algorithms. Finally, it was agreed that the multistakeholder platform was an appropriate approach to advancing e-commerce in Europe.

This session was part of the EuroDIG educational track and was moderated by Mr Arvin Kamberi (Multimedia Coordination, DiploFoundation). The goal of the session was to explain the basics of blockchain technology.

Participants who wanted to discuss more complex issues around this technology were invited to follow the plenary session, 'Blockchain – a competition to governments?'.

Mr Walid Al-Saqaf (Senior Lecturer, Södertörn University) explained in a simplified way, how blockchain technology works and why it is seen as revolutionary. The Internet has three main characteristics: it is decentralised, transparent (because the TCP/IP protocols are open source), and it is secure (we are confident that our data packets will be delivered along the network). These attributes allow us to communicate globally and on a massive scale. However, in the current system, when we send data via intermediaries, the content becomes duplicated. Blockchain technology does not allow for this duplication. Al-Saqaf stressed that blockchain is revolutionary because it allows for a decentralised, open, peer-to-peer (P2P) communication in which packages travel from one owner to the other directly. On a blockchain network, every transaction operates on the distributed application architecture and is recorded on the distributed ledger. 'No one can change the ledger records without the consensus of the whole network', Al-Saqaf noted. He reminded the audience that bitcoin is just one of the applications running on blockchain.

After the simplified explanation of how blockchain works, the audience participated in an interactive game that showcased how blocks inside a chain are created. Eight volunteers from the audience acted as 'miners' and block creators. They monitored all transactions and ensured the validity of the distributed ledger. Their trading currency was 'chocolate coins'. Through a series of transfers of the coin, the audience learned why blockchain is tamper-proof.

Following the simulation, Mr Jörn Ergbuth (Blockchain and Data Protection Consultant) explained the system of smart contracts. Ergbuth noted that although there is no clear definition of the term, it has some main characteristics. Smart contracts are automated, online, secure, and always part of a code. The question is therefore, can code be law? According to Ergbuth, the essence of contracts is the mutually valid agreement, written in an understandable language, and smart contracts can be law. The benefit of smart contracts is that the ledger on blockhain is transparent, and the transaction is received, stored, and transferred once the transaction is confirmed and executed. Ergbuth also highlighted that smart contracts are small scripts on blockchain that can be used to do a series of contracts. Furthermore, smart contracts change over time and are still not perfectly developed. This raises the question for the multistakeholder model on how to govern smart contracts, and potentially, whether a central authority can be established to control their development and execution. Other open questions for smart contracts involve regulation, dispute resolution, privacy, and mediating their attractiveness for criminal business.

Made by Women (MbW) is a Syrian-based social enterprise that is responsible for an improvement in the livelihoods of 100 women. This was achieved through international sales of the products made by these artisans. These sales, in turn, were made possible through knowledge of digital commerce tools. In this launch, sponsored by the International Trade Center (ITC) and the Permanent Mission of Japan, MbW showcased their products and discussed their experience.

Ms Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, ITC, spoke first. She stated that the event brought together four different goals:

advancing women’s economic empowerment;

addressing the issue of refugees;

focusing on the power of technology; and

assisting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in developing economies.

Behind them all is the notion, espoused by the ITC, that trade is a force for good, which can be used to help MSMEs contribute to their countries’ growth. In certain countries, such work requires strategic partners, such as MbW. Technology facilitates the search for such partners. In addition to promoting the economic empowerment of its associates, MbW’s focus on native crafts is key to uniting 100 collaborators originating from diverse backgrounds. Tembo finished by recommending that the international community consider peaceful trade as part of the solution to the issues of disempowered women and migrants.

Next, Mr Kansuke Nagaoka, Minister, Permanent Mission of Japan, remarked that collaborating on this project was not only his responsibility, but his pleasure. He stated that, when assisting in capacity-building programmes, the Japanese government strives to accommodate the specific needs of its partners. To exemplify this notion, Nagaoka cited his country’s recent announcement to provide Syrian students with educational opportunities. To him, that same perspective is present in Japan’s decision to sponsor MbW.

Ms Rania Kinge, Social entrepreneur, told the story of MbW, explaining how it was ‘conceived and made’ in a ‘complete warzone’. In 2012, while visiting shelters for displaced women in Damascus, Kinge wondered how she could help them look beyond their situation and ‘educate their children in a more stable environment’. She decided to teach them how to make a product. Four criteria informed her choice of the ‘I love Syria’ bracelets:

the product had to be made within one day;

it had to generate income in that same day;

production had to be independent of electricity; and

it had to be sold in bulk.

Starting with a team of six, MbW sold 50,000 bracelets in their first year. Nevertheless, if it is already difficult for social enterprises to break even, the odds increase tenfold for such businesses in warzones. Thus, in 2015, when she could not bear it anymore, Kinge typed ‘ethical fashion’ on her browser’s search bar. This ordinary use of technology led her to the ITC, a like-minded organisation that also believes in empowerment through trade. Although they could not immediately finance MbW, ITC staff personally contributed to bring part of the MbW team to Geneva, to showcase its products. The proceeds of this visit enabled MbW to sustain 20 workers for two years. Later, with the assistance of Japan, this number doubled, and then quintupled. Now, 100 women who had no prior skills earn twice the salary of a Damascus graduate professor. Kinge believes that this model should be replicated around the world. Indeed, following MbW’s appearance in the media, she received requests to share their expertise with groups not only in other cities in Syria, but also in Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, and Turkey.

To conclude MbW’s presentation, Kinge invited Mr Esmaeel Eid, Production manager, MbW, to share his experience of the project. Replying to her questions, Eid described the dangers of their activity and what motivates him to risk his life for it. In his view, providing a better future for 100 women is enough incentive to persevere in the face of bombardments or road checkpoints. When asked about the organisation’s expectations, he listed the increase in the number of associates as a priority, second only to the need to find an easier way of obtaining their raw materials.

In the ensuing Q&A, Kinge fielded questions pertaining to the instrumental role of the ITC in aiding MbW, the difficulty of working in a country under sanctions, and how the humanitarian community can assist MbW.

The event was opened by Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD. He explained that the report is meant to provide a response to the demand by developing countries for assistance in coping with the challenges and opportunities that have arisen owing to the rapid transformations brought about by digital technologies. In addition, by providing data and statistics, it hopes to encourage policy-makers to engage in evidence-based discussions on this topic, and to adopt legal frameworks adapted to changes in digitalisation. Ms Shamika N Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics (DTL) of UNCTAD, added that the point of the report was to provide a body of hard evidence on digitalisation, trade and development, and to enrich the discussions of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-Commerce and the Digital Economy.

Mr Torbjörn Fredriksson, Chief of Information and Communication Technology Analysis of DTL, UNCTAD, provided a chapter-by-chapter overview of the report. He emphasised that we are only in the ‘early days’ of the new digital economy, which will generate significant transformations due to technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, and 3D printing. These transformations can bring opportunities, as well as risks and challenges. The ultimate impact depends on the ability of enterprises and people to take advantage of digitalisation, as well as on countries’ readiness for e-commerce, which can only be achieved by taking a holistic approach to policy-making.

The report furthermore attempts to measure the digital economy, even though good statistics are often lacking, especially for developing countries. The measurements point at the fast growth of the digital economy, especially on the part of developing countries, yet there are still major digital divides that need to be factored in. In addition, the report looks at the way in which digitalisation can make trade more inclusive, and its consequences for global value chains.

Changes in the labour market are also analysed, including the phenomenon of online work. While this is making work more flexible and potentially more inclusive, it also raises concerns related to the lack of social protection and low wages. In general, digitalisation can affect jobs in four ways:

It leads to the creation of new jobs

It leads to the disappearance of some traditional jobs, due to automation

It will affect the conditions of work

More work will involve digital skills

To tackle trade, development, and digitalisation issues, the dialogue between trade and Internet governance communities needs to be strengthened, and coordination needs to be improved across ministries, stakeholders, and different levels of government.

H.E. Mr Julian Braithwaite, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, commented on the report by raising two key points:

The rate of transformation of the Internet affects all aspects of the global economy, and the transformation in developing countries is extraordinary.

Digitalisation needs a comprehensive policy response, a combination of trade policy and Internet governance, at both the international and national level.

He also stressed that the digital economy can only thrive with a free and open Internet, and that confidence in digital technologies is needed in the modern economic marketplace. He encouraged institutions in Geneva to remove barriers by working together: ‘If the international system doesn’t catch up, this will be harmful for economies and stifle opportunities’.

Dr Omobola Johnson, Senior Partner at TLcomCapital and former Nigerian Minister for ICT, emphasised that the digital divide is still widening due to a lack of affordable Internet and of awareness of the potential of digital technology. Based on current trends, we will only be able to achieve universal access to the Internet by 2042. Yet, with a committed multistakeholder and multidimensional perspective, progress can be accelerated. Therefore, collaboration is needed across ministries, departments, and agencies.

Mr William J Drake, International Fellow & Lecturer, Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ University of Zurich, introduced the session by explaining that the discussions will revolve around the pros and cons of digital policy issues in trade negotiations from a European standpoint, while trying to answer questions such as: Which digital policy issues should be dealt with under an international trade framework and which should not? Are negotiations on international trade agreements inclusive enough? What roles should European stakeholders play in such negotiations?

Mr Pearse O'Donohue, Acting Director for Future Networks DG CONNECT, European Commission, focused on the issue of the free flow of data. He started by saying that in the EU, there have been restrictions on data flows, but without meaningful discussions on why such restrictions are in place. There are also legal uncertainties at both the national and EU levels when it comes to cross-border data flows. The EU needs to address such issues internally first, and then move on to discussing the principles of data flows beyond EU borders. O'Donohue pointed out that, while there is a clear need to ensure data protection and data security, localisation and restrictions on data flows are not necessarily the answer. It is important for economic and social development worldwide that data can circulate freely across borders.

Ms Marilia Maciel, Digital Policy Senior Researcher, DiploFoundation, spoke about the importance of data flows in discussions on international trade agreements, but underlined that there are also other digital policy issues being increasingly raised in such discussions, such as intermediary liability, cryptography, and spam. She said that there is increasing pressure for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to make progress on e-commerce related issues, and that the topic will be addressed at the WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held in December 2017. WTO member states have elaborated non-papers tackling digital issues that could be included in future trade negotiations: taxation (whether the moratorium on the non-taxation of electronic transmissions should be made permanent), data flows, trade facilitation (paperless trade harmonisation), technology transfers, privacy, consumer protection, etc.

Mr Robert Kroplewski, Minister of Digital Affairs for Information Society, Poland, said that when it comes to digital trade and e-commerce, EU stakeholders should look not only at the digital single market within the EU, but also at the global economy. He noted that data is key to innovation, and, in order to explore this potential, states should create an environment of mutual trust when it comes to data flows.

Mr Konstantinos Komaitis, Director Policy Development, Internet Society, started by asking whether the Internet governance (IG) community is ready to contribute to the international discussions on trade. He said that IG issues such as intellectual property rights, data protection, and security come up more and more in trade agreements, and that the IG community needs to make sure it becomes part of the trade discussions. At a minimum, this would mean demanding transparency from international negotiation processeses, and finding a way to provide input into the discussions before decisions are made. Komaitis also pointed to the complexities of the on-going debate on the challenges of globalisation, and the emergence of protectionist policies, which bring challenges for the Internet and the digital ecosystem, as, by definition, the Internet is supportive of globalisation.

Ms Erika Mann, Senior European Policy Advisor, Covington & Burling LLP, addressed the question of whether the IG multistakeholder model can be infused into the trade environment. In her view, the model is flexible enough to deal with a complex environment such as international trade, and its applicability can and should be tested on specific trade-related issues, such as data flows. IG stakeholders should become partners in international trade discussions, but not try to cover or capture all topics.

Mr Wolfgang Kleinwachter, Professor Emeritus, University of Aarhus, pointed out that, although digital policy issues are interconnected and decisions taken in one field affect another (security issues for example, also affect human rights and trade), they are still addressed and negotiated in silos. Better communication needs to be created among the various communities to allow issues to be more transversally addressed. Kleinwachter also mentioned that the multilateral treaty system will never disappear, but it is embedded in an environment where all stakeholders have a say.

Discussions on the multistakeholder model continued during the interactive part of the session. It was said that multistakeholderism is seen as a helpful instrument to address certain issues, but the model is still in its early days. As there are not many concrete outcomes of the process, it remains to be seen how it will develop in the future. The one size fits all approach does not work, and each issue needs special, tailored solutions built around it. When it comes to trade agreements, governments probably still need a place to ‘sit alone’, but they also need to make sure that they consult other stakeholders and understand their views before entering the decision-making phase.

The closing session 'Key Outcomes and Way Forward' summarised the key points and concrete actions elaborated throughout the whole E-commerce Week. In particular, the chair of the Panel, Ms Shamika N Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics (DTL), UNCTAD, affirmed the necessity for participants to value the outcomes of different working groups and make e-commerce more inclusive.

MrTorbjorn Fredriksson, Head of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Analysis Section of the DTL, UNCTAD, formally opened the discussion by highlighting the importance of the event and its unprecedented success. Compared to the 2016 UNCTAD e-commerce week, this year's participation rose from 300 people to about 900. Moreover, more than 90 countries were officially represented in the discussion as opposed to roughly 40 countries of previous year. Furthermore, important platforms and courses were launched during the week, such as the 'e-trade4all' online platform, the World Bank cybercrime toolkit, and the course on Digital Commerce offered by DiploFoundation.

Subsequently, Fredriksson invited eight speakers to report on the outcomes of the main sessions that took place during the week.

H.E. Ms Frances Lisson, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), reported from the session on gender and e-commerce. She underlined the wide gender gap that persist in terms of access to financial resources, participation and courses for women in the market. Consequently, she urged various international organisations to create a fertile ground, enabling and promoting women’s businesses. Moreover, she also stressed the importance of collaborating with the private sector and academia in order to have better disaggregated data.

MrJonathan Werner, Coordinator of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Initiative, WTO, summarised the main outcomes of the session focusing on Least Developed Countries (LCDs). He reaffirmed that digital trade is the way forward but at the same time the digital divide remains tangible, especially in different areas of the world. He reminded the audience that the existing partnerships with the major stakeholders involved have brought positive results, such as the German presidency of G20. He pushed for an increase of resource mobilisation efforts and support to LDCs in mobilising resources regionally.

MrMichael J Ferrantino, Lead Economist of the International Trade Department, World Bank, reported from the session on measurement. The conversation investigated the possibilities for improving the availability of data on e-commerce in developing countries. He highlighted three main conclusions: using the existing surveys in order to collect information on e-commerce, collaborate with the private and public sectors (such as postal data and the transport sector), and increase the capacity building.

Ms Teresa Moreira, Head of the Competition Policy and Consumer Protection Branch, UNCTAD, illustrated the main points of the discussion on the consumer protection in the online context. She underlined that an increase of e-commerce and mobile commerce would positively impact the application of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. In particular, she urged participant to provide clearer information on rights and duties of consumers and to promote international co-operation aiming at developing consumer protection policies in the online context.

Mr Nick Ashton-Hart, Adviser, UNCTAD, illustrated the recommendations on the possible outcomes of payments. In particular, he stressed three important policy goals. Firstly, everyone everywhere should be able to consume any time, anywhere, through affordable payment methods. Secondly, there is the need to leverage flexibility, for example to promote credit card transactions without the need to request pre-authorisation from competent authorities. Thirdly, security and new payment forms should be assured through the development of multi-regulatory clearances.

Mr James Howe, Senior Adviser, ITC, reported from the session on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). He explained that the discussion developed during this session was mainly business oriented, and focused on the use of e-commerce as a tool to increase connection with the external world. Moreover, he stressed the importance of e-commerce in fragile situations (e.g. in Syria) as a path towards stability and against isolation.

The reporting session was followed by an open discussion in which questions from the audience drew attention to three specific issues. First, the role of the private sector is crucial in increasing e-commerce in developing countries, hence it needs to be supported. Second, currently, a large part of e-commerce is domestic, thus the challenge for the future lies in increasing international, cross-border e-commerce. Third, potential risks of e-commerce in terms of security and child protection must not to be overlooked.

The week-long event was closed with remarks by MsMukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General, UNCTAD. She thanked all the participants for their interest in the event and precious input during the discussions. She reminded the audience that although the UNCTAD E-commerce Week represents an important yearly meeting, important changes do not happen only once a year. Finally, she pushed the stakeholders involved not to be 'Geneva centric' but to consider the importance of the Asia Pacific Region and the challenges regarding cross-border transactions in Africa as well.

In this session, the experiences of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developed countries in adopting e-commerce technology was compared to those in developing countries. The panel addressed how e-commerce has changed trade for small firms, the difficulties these firms have faced, and ways in which stakeholders can co-operate to promote further e-commerce adoption in developing countries.

H.E. Mr Julian Braithwaite, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the UN and Other International Organisations in Geneva, began the discussion by reaffirming the UK’s interest in e-commerce as a driver of growth in its own economy, and emphasised the need for inclusiveness to close the digital divide between developing and developed countries. He then addressed the fact that the digital agenda is fragmented between many international organisations, and argued that intelligent future regulation must break down these silos.

Ms Angela Steen, from the peer-to-peer e-commerce company Etsy, gave the perspective of micro-enterprises using e-commerce platforms. She outlined four main challenges faced by Etsy’s sellers, most of whom are young women selling their products globally: trade laws have not kept up with the growth of e-commerce and have put unnecessary burdens on micro-companies, sellers face short-term income volatility and struggle to find ways to educate themselves about upscaling their businesses, and governments tend to ignore the needs of these businesses in their policies.

Ms Berna Ozsar, Secretary General of the World SME Forum, highlighted the fact that e-commerce has been both a blessing and a curse for developing countries. While e-commerce has allowed SMES in developed countries to access sources of finance and previously untapped markets, SMEs in developing countries have fallen behind. These developing country SMEs face three main issues: lack of awareness about e-commerce, lack of access, and lack of knowledge (regarding language barriers and confusing custom laws).

Ms Hannie Melin Olbe, Director of Global Public Policy at eBay, added to the topic of 'lack of access' by addressing the massive amounts of micro-enterprises unconnected to the global markets. She discussed the tremendous role of online commerce in lowering costs of distance to create a 'global empowerment network' that provides opportunities for these previously unconnected enterprises to reach new markets.

Ms Colette van der Ven, Associate of Sidley-Austin LLP, discussed the legal hurtles that her clients must face to conduct e-commerce. SMEs must overcome both traditional and new legal obstacles, thereby increasing costs and hurting innovation. One solution to this problem is an 'E-comm Co-op', which aggregates hundreds of merchants and provides benefits and resources that they would not otherwise receive.

Ms Victoria Saue, Head of Legal and Compliance of Estonia’s e-Residency, discussed her country’s innovative approach to help SMEs by allowing anyone around the world to apply for e-residency in Estonia. This gives SMEs three main benefits: providing access to economic opportunities in the EU, increasing financial inclusion – such as the ability to receive loans, and creating trust in these SMEs through a valid Estonian ID.

Ms Famke Schapp, Director of Customs and Global Trade at Deloitte, discussed the major compliance challenges that Deloitte’s clients must face when conducting e-commerce. These challenges included the confusion behind deciding whether they provide goods or services, lack of clarity and harmony in taxes and standards, and burdensome regulatory costs that vary by country.

Ms Susan F Stone, Director of the Trade, Investment and Innovation Division of UN Economic and Social Commission or Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), finished the panel discussion by advocating for UNCTAD’s eTrade for All Platform to prevent fragmentation, duplication, and redundancy of trade standards for e-commerce. Stone also discussed successful examples of knowledge sharing agreements that provide frameworks for governments to agree to common standards and vocabulary involving digital issues.

The discussion then moved towards input from the audience. Emphasis was placed on the experiences and challenges of an entrepreneur from Syria who aggregates and sells online the arts and crafts of women displaced by the Syrian Civil War. Her main challenge was the difficulty of receiving payments due to sanctions on Syria and her government’s policies, which greatly limits her e-commerce potential. Further questions and answers from the audience re-emphasised the need to limit the regulatory and tax burden of SMEs, create standardised trade agreements, and encourage SMEs to adopt e-commerce measures through success stories and relevant data.

This session focused on the impact e-commerce and business internationalisation have on export promotion.

Mr Martin Labbé, Senior Officer and Institutional Development at the International Trade Centre, gave the opening remarks and moderated the session. He highlighted the essential contribution of Trade and Investment Promotion Organisations (TIPOs) in enhancing e-commerce and export promotion.

In particular, he invited the four speakers to address the opportunities and challenges that e-commerce poses for TIPOs.

Ms Siv Ahlberg, Programme Director at Finnpartnership, opened the discussion. She began by illustrating the main role of the Finnish Business Partnership Programme, which is providing aid and advisory services to organisations interested in launching business operations in developing countries. She explained that Finnpartnership is a 'match-making' organisation, connecting business to business (B-to-B) and business to customer (B-to-C). Moreover, she specified that all the companies working with Finnpartnership are subjected to a monitoring mechanism both before and after they join the organisation.

Finally, she considered the existing challenges that e-commerce poses to TIPOs. In Finland, customer protection laws are very strong. This can constitute a problem in terms of the customer’s trust towards a given company: if a company makes a mistake in terms of visibility, it will be difficult to restore its reputation.

Ms Indira Malwatte, Chairperson and Chief Executive at the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLDB), continued the discussion, illustrating the SLDB’c approach towards e-commerce and TIPOs. She explained that the SLDB offers companies a platform to advertise their products and initiatives. Before having access to such a portal, companies undergo a strict credibility check during which a representative from the SLDB visits the facility and redacts a report.

At the same time, she described the limits of the current SLDB platform. In Sri Lanka, digital signature has not yet been recognised as valid, it is thus not possible to pay through electronic platforms. Consequently, this creates an unfriendly environment for e-commerce.

Mr Sebastian Tamás, Director of Innovations at the Hungarian National Trading House, explained the different approach they have towards e-commerce compared to that of SLDB. The Hungarian National Trading House follows a 'start-up Darwinism' approach: they help companies with a more versatile profile – companies with higher potential – to adapt to the rapid changes of the market. The key aspect is automation: although availability of data can represent a hurdle, there is big attention being paid to the collection and analysis of information. This includes not only a background check of companies, but also a follow-up control mechanism that follows companies’ successful activity through time.

In particular, he specified that the collection of information is done through an algorithm that considers companies’ digital footprint, as for example the analysis of their engagement on social media platforms.

Mr James Zhan, Director of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD, concluded the discussion with his speech. As opposed to the previous speakers who talked about trade promotion, he addressed investment promotion and its risks in particular. In this sense, the challenge lies in linking investment promotion with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the digital era. He considered that SDGs are also encompassing many digital targets (such as the access to Internet for all), with possible positive effects on investment and trade. The ultimate objective is to enhance digital economic development, but at the same time, rapid changes of the international landscape make it difficult for companies to pursue a long-term coherent strategy.

The session focused on how digital transformation is changing the standard business model and how it will affect the types of jobs available on the market, and the skills young people need to acquire in order to enter the labour force. The key elements discussed included: future trends of the labour market in the digital economy, and how the support of young entrepreneurs is a crucial step in driving innovation and job creation all over the world.

Mr James Zhan, Director of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD, spoke on the pressing issue of global youth unemployment, which has now reached 13.1%, and the work that UNCTAD and the Commonwealth have been doing in order to develop a Policy Guide on Youth Entrepreneurship. The Policy Guide aims to support policymakers in developing countries and transition economies to design policies and programmes for the youth, establish institutions to promote youth entrepreneurship, and offer training in support of young people creating jobs for themselves rather than waiting for the government to solve the problem.

Mr Pere Molins, Impact Enterprises, spoke about the work they are doing to support young entrepreneurs in Zambia by facilitating programmes which connect young people to job opportunities around the world. With a youth unemployment rate in Zambia of 59%, Impact Enterprises aims to 'pioneer socially conscious outsourcing in Africa'; with just an Internet connection, one can work for any company in the world. Automation threatens about 85% of jobs in developing countries, which emphasises the need for youth to possess concrete technical skills in addition to softer skills such as communication. Molins also expressed his belief that there is a lack of collaboration globally, and that a multistakeholder dialogue could help to drive innovation.

The CEO of a technology company in South Africa, spoke briefly on the non-academic nature of technical entrepreneurship, and the millennial generation being very process/structure oriented while there is no structured training for entrepreneurship. The need for knowledge such as coding and other skills not typically taught in school is crucial, as it will help make the youth more successful. It is often the case that young entrepreneurs fail to execute their ideas due to their lack of basic knowledge on information technology, which results in them becoming exploited by the venture capital system.

The core of this session was the exclusive interactive dialogue portion with Mr Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General, and Mr Jack Ma, Founder and Director of Alibaba and Special Adviser to UNCTAD.

As a well known, successful entrepreneur, Ma said he likes to refer to himself as 'CEO: Chief Education Officer', as he views himself first and foremost as a teacher, and he says his job is to support young entrepreneurs in business. Entrepreneurs talk about the future and they are never worried about what is to come; this is what excites him and drives his need to work with young people. When asked how we can address the main concerns of youth employment in the digital economy, he explained that e-commerce is just the beginning of what is to come. The youth will become the experts of e-commerce and because e-commerce is the future, he is extremely passionate about supporting these young entrepreneurs that will drive this change. He emphasised the idea that people under 30 embrace the Internet and because of that, it is going to be the small start up companies that will thrive in the future economy. It is important to learn from the mistakes of successful people rather than their stories of success, as this knowledge will prepare one for similar challenges in the future; this, he believes will be the driving force of progress.

Kituyi spoke about the challenges of inclusive prosperity and the need for smart partnerships between companies, the UN, governments and academics. He is confident that the Policy Guide on Youth Entrepreneurship will be successful in achieving these kinds of partnerships and will inspire others to do so as well. E-payment is a political decision, and Kenya is one example of how this kind of partnership has been successful as it currently has the most developed mobile payment system in the world. Today we need awareness from political leaders to do what is necessary to stimulate innovation. He also stressed the need to think of the youth as less of a target audience, and more of a group that can provide input. 'We can only solve global problems as a global community.'

Mr Daniel Blockert, Ambassador of Sweden to the WTO and Chair of the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Steering Committee, was the moderator of the session. The EIF is a multi-donor programme with the aim of helping Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to become more active players in the global trading system. Blockert started by recalling that the theme of eTrade readiness assessment is deeply related to the process that generated the eTrade for All initiative. The challenges for LDCs to engage in e-commerce are still significant, starting from a low level of connectivity in most of them. The launch of the eTrade for All initiative was an important first step, but it is necessary to discuss how it can be implemented. This session is an opportunity to hear views from LDCs, especially the ones that have undergone eTrade readiness assessments.

Cambodia was one of these countries. H.E. Mr Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce, Cambodia, underscored the important role of the EIF to the LDCs because it provides technical co-operation, keeps LDCs abreast of evolutions in the trade landscape and helps them identify the best way to advance their agendas. The eTrade readiness assessment complements assessments done by other actors, such as the private sector, and helps LDCs to prepare for global negotiations, including within the WTO. The eTrade for all helps to break the silos and encourages actors such as governments and the private sector, to work together.

H.E. Mr Lekey Dorji, Minister for Economic Affairs, Bhutan, mentioned that his country was one of the first selected by UNCTAD for the eTrade readiness assessments. The assessment has provided the country with a good guide on how to adopt ICTs for development. Important frameworks were approved, such as the ICT roadmap from 2011, which fosters ICT for good government and sustainable economic development. In 2016, the ICT for development plan was launched, with the aim to foster the growth of the ICT industry. Buthan has no overarching law on e-commerce – and this was one of the weak points identified in the assessment report, but some legal frameworks are in place, such as the consumer protection law, from 2012. Having e-readiness assessments is an important first step, but the biggest challenge is to find the resources to develop e-commerce. More resources and technical knowledge are needed if the recommendations on the eTrade assessment are to be carried forward by LDCs.

H.E. Ms Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom, Pakistan, recalled that the future of the economy is digital, so LDCs need support to ensure that their limited resources are efficiently used to make e-commerce grow faster. ICTs are enablers of development, but this point has not been included among the 17 goals that encompass the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN Broadband Commission aims to include ‘access to ICTs’ as an 18th SDG goal.

Khan affirmed that the Universal Service Funds are an important instrument for developing countries. Many developing countries, however, do not use these resources for their intended purpose, which is to connect the unconnected. Governments should make these funds available to their ICT ministers, so they can deploy infrastructure. Pakistan has done that, and created a public-private-partnership (PPP) to administrate the funds. The Pakistani government also celebrated a PPP with Microsoft to develop a project that teaches girls technology skills, such as coding and cloud computing. When it comes to regulatory issues, it is important that governments perform their role in protecting their people. Sometimes it is difficult for governments to approve laws, such as cybercrime and privacy laws, because they impact the business models of the private sector, which are based on the use of data. Governments need to support each other in order to be able to develop the much needed regulation.

Blockert asked Khan how the distribution of resources from the Universal Service fund takes place in Pakistan. Khan explained in detail the functioning of the Universal Fund. She emphasised that every aspect, from governance issues to the actual disbursement of resources, is managed by a public private partnership (PPP).

H.E Dr Francois Xavier Ngarambe, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Rwanda, mentioned that his country is starting to put into place the frameworks for enabling e-commerce transactions. SMEs are accompanied and supported in the process of creating their online businesses. Nevertheless, in order for LDCs to really progress, e-commerce needs to be linked with the transformation of the whole economy, transfer of technology and knowledge sharing. Institutional improvement is also necessary, so they develop better and more predictable policies.

Mr Günter Nooke, Personal Representative for Africa to the German Chancellor, BMZ, Germany, made an overview of the German contribution to initiatives to foster development. It includes support to the Enhanced Integrated Framework – an important tool to make e-commerce useful for LDCs, and also to organisations such as the International Trade Centre (ITC), which focuses on the inclusion of SMEs. Nooke also commented on the work of the G20 on e-commerce. Some of the topics discussed are taxation, the development angle, and capacity building for women and girls. He summarised the developments of the last G20 summit. Nooke recalled that digital trade needs not only ICT infrastructure, but also physical infrastructure and logistics. The G20, in partnership with other actors, is also contributing to channel private financing into infrastructure development.

Blockert opened the floor for questions to Khan. The representative of Pakistan shared information about initiatives that Pakistan is putting in place to promote connectivity. The representative of an e-commerce website in Cameroon asked how the ICT ministry in Pakistan overcame the resistance of families to let women participate in ICT training. Khan mentioned that these girls usually come from the most disadvantaged sectors of society and that they have been encouraged by their parents to attend the training. The employability agreement with Microsoft gives them the chance to further participate in a free-lancer training, offered to the ones that excel in the program. In Khan's opinion, it is important to partner with the private sector, since they can help to develop the curriculum and train the tutors. A representative from Morocco commented on the trade-offs between strict regulation and innovation and defended the need for balanced policies that grant both economic and social opportunities. A representative from the Islamic Development Bank, mentioned that the bank is offering support for infrastructure deployment to its members.

Khan replied that it is up to policymakers to define what would be a balanced regulation. For Pakistan, providing job opportunities for young people is the most important goal, so regulation should not hinder innovation and employability.

Mr Ratnakar Adhikari, Executive Director of the Executive Secretariat for the Enhanced Integrated Framework, made some assessments of the current scenario:

SMEs will need to use technology to participate in the global value chains.

E-commerce has changed the way we conduct business. It reduces information asymetries and redundancy in the global value chain.

LDCs are far from exploring the full potential of e-commerce and the gender divide is severe.

Aid for Trade helps to realise the potential of e-commerce.

According to Adhikari, Samoa and Liberia will undergo the eTrade readiness assessment soon. Once the assessment is done, UNCTAD supports the countries with project preparation grants, helping them develop robust projects and apply to bilateral donors, to the eTrade for All, and other potential channels.

Ms Dorothy Ng'ambi Tembo, Deputy Executive Director of the ITC, affirmed that technology provides a good opportunity to scale SMEs:

Through e-commerce, SMEs can build international reputation and enhance consumer trust.

It allows to expand outreach. Less resources are needed for companies to become visible when they use online platforms.

Disintermediation in international trade. SMEs can ship directly to the end point.

Facilitate channels for SMEs to have access to multiple financial options.

In spite of that, participation of LDCs in e-commerce is still very low and there is a need to concretely support SMEs from LDCs in order to enhance participation. There is willingness from governments to work towards this goal, but most of them are still wondering how to do it. Some issues that need to be addressed include:

Non-conformity with tax requirements. The failure to conform with VAT duties can generate additional costs for consumers and sellers and increase the number of returned packages.

Availability of payment solutions. In Africa there is a considerable number of payment solutions, but restricted to the domestic market. There is a need to go beyond the domestic market.

Lack of affordable logistics.

Ng'ambi Tembo made some recommendations on priority areas:

To provide country-specific recommendations.

Make human and financial resources available.

Strengthen regulatory coherence.

Provide capacity building for SMEs.

Ms Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD, explained UNCTAD’s main areas of activity: technical assistance, ICT policy reviews and regulatory reviews. She mentioned that the eTrade readiness assessment has been conducted in two countries for the moment and there is plenty of space to scale it to others. The assessment provides an opportunity to have a multistakeholder assessment, involving governments and the private sector.

Mr Fernand Matendo, CEO of Burundi Shop, explained the issues that, in his view, prevent LDCs from developing faster. A large part of the workforce is in the countryside, doing manual labour. His company is engaged in developing a platform that will connect the countryside to the marketplace, using mobile devices. It will facilitate payments and create a network for the delivery of products. There are more than 50 partners engaged, including the associations of transports and logistics.

Ms Shomi Kaiser, Adviser at the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), highlighted the importance of the partnerships between the public sector and the private sector to develop the national framework that will allow a coherent e-commerce policy.

This session kicked off the Just-In-Time Course on Digital Commerce delivered by the Geneva Internet Platform, in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS International), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and DiploFoundation.

Dr Jovan Kurbalija, Director of DiploFoundation and Head of the Geneva Internet Platform, provided a background to the development of the course, as it was initiated in response to the need of policymakers to understand this increasingly complex topic. This heightened interest in better understanding digital commerce coincides with the Internet’s growing centrality in society and its facilitation for development. According to Kurbalija, ‘on this long journey, we do not have all the answers, but we should have enough understanding, goodwill, and capacity to address the issues we will face, for a more effective and shared e-commerce space’.

Ms Marion Jansen, Chief Economist of the International Trade Centre, emphasised the topic’s novelty and complexity, which needs to be grasped in order to capture its full potential. SMEs can particularly benefit from the promise of e-commerce, provided that they have a proper understanding of the potential and challenges of digital commerce. Their success also depends on the supporting regulatory environment at both the national and international level. She hoped the course would contribute to reducing the complexity of the topic, bringing life into complex issues, and moving digital commerce into the right direction.

Mr Rashid S Kaukab, Executive Director of CUTS International Geneva, spoke about the potential for e-commerce to provide benefits at all levels, especially in developing countries. Yet, these countries often struggle to understand the various aspects of e-commerce. The course helps to improve the understanding of the issues involved for better informed policy decisions, irrespective of the direction of policy discussions and negotiations. He furthermore emphasised that the course would allow for collaborative learning, ultimately leading everyone to better understand the multi-layered nature of digital commerce.

According to Ms Marie Sicat, Economic Affairs Officer at UNCTAD, the course has been launched at an appropriate time, considering the mounting interest on digital commerce. She provided an overview of the many aspects of life affected by digital transformations, as well as the digital development challenges that limit the opportunities of digital technologies. Many of these challenges will be covered in the course.

After the interventions by the four institutions that have been involved in the development of the course, Ms Marilia Maciel, Digital Policy Senior Researcher at DiploFoundation, and Ms Roxana Radu, Programme Manager at the Geneva Internet Platform, explained in further detail how the course is structured. Next, Kurbalija started the first lecture of the course, focused on Internet functionality and business models.

Kurbalija gave a sneak peek into the history of the Internet, as well as its infrastructure and architecture. Although the Internet is often imagined as being largely decentralised, he demonstrated that most Internet traffic flows through physical submarine cables and connects in a number of important hubs. With the increased technological advancement of the Internet, people started to realise its commercial potential, and new business models arose, including the Internet access model, the trade digitalisation model, the data model, the cloud service model, and the Internet platform model. Ultimately, this has created Internet applications that have become central to people’s needs and aspirations, and which affects all layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Dr Stormy-Annika Mildner, B20 Sherpa, Head of the Department of External Economic Policy, Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI), Federation of German Industries, made an overview of the B20's activities. The B20 represents the G20 business community, and currently has more than 700 members. The work of the B20 takes place in three thematic groups: a) trade and finance; b) digitalisation; c) SMEs. The B20 made some key recommendations:

Accelerate capacity building in the field of e-commerce

Develop sound and harmonised e-commerce related policies

Adapt trade rules to the digital age

The WTO should have a mandate to negotiate digital trade

Enable cross-border data flows.

Dr Gunther Grathwohl, Counsellor at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, started by making an overview of how digital economy has been addressed by the G20. The G20 Antalya Summit was the first time the topic was discussed. During the G20 Hangzhou Summit, a task Force was proposed, and thus the G20 Digital Economy Task Force (DETF) was launched at the Düsseldorf Summit. The DETF deals with the following themes:

Digitalisation, growth and employment, which encompasses several pillars, such as: improving infrastructure, analysing the role of digital platforms (including their impact on competition) and developing digital skills in education.

Digitalisation of production for the future, which includes, for example, connecting machines across enterprises, harmonising industry standards in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT).

Creating trust, confidence and transparency, which includes principles such as free flow of data, privacy, and security.

Grathwohl highlighted some of the results of the process so far: the approval of a ministerial declaration; a roadmap; and a plan of action for the coming years; as well as annexes dealing with digital skills and digital trade. The G20 also committed to other goals, such as promoting digital inclusion, fostering competition, use of digitalisation as a way to achieve the SDGs, and enhancing consumer protection and digital literacy skills.

Dr Walter Werner, Ambassador of Germany to the WTO, focused on the e-commerce-related discussions at the G20. He commented on the discussions of the G20 Digital Ministries Conference and the results of the work of the Trade and Investment Working Group. The following topics are being discussed at the working group:

Measuring digital trade. The OECD has provided input to these discussions and provided statistics. Services, for example, are not well captured in statistics.

International Frameworks for digital trade. This discussion was informed by a WTO presentation.

The development dimension of digital trade, informed by UNCTAD.

The declaration that was produced touches upon points, such as:

Promotion of growth and jobs.

Commitment to improve measurement and statistics. This topic will be very prominent in MC11 in Argentina.

Commitment to engage in discussions at the WTO, without consensus about opening negotiations.

Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and including digital trade aspects in Trade Policy Reviews.

Commitment to help developing countries overcome the barriers to digital trade. The theme should be further discussed at the working group and international organisations should be invited to assist.

During the questions and answers segment, a TWN representative asked how the G20 proposals relate to points raised by the EU at the WTO, which ne considered not be beneficial to developing countries. Werner replied that the EU has hold only of information exchanged among member countries, tacking stock of current status and options ahead. Another participant asked if there are multilateral discussions to develop a framework for a harmonised recognition of digital signatures. Currently they are recognised on a national basis and not cross-border. Werner replied that there is no common standard and the position for the time being is that every country should recognise digital signatures as valid, but discussions are not mature enough to agree on specific standards. Perhaps the issue should not be tackled by the WTO, but rather by other international organisations, such as for example the ITU.

This session launched the eTrade for all online platform, which serves as an information hub for developing countries to navigate the technical and financial services available to drive development through e-commerce, and which is a central component of UNCTAD’s eTrade for all initiative.

Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, opened the session, emphasising that the opportunities that e-commerce brings will be wasted if challenges fail to be addressed. He stressed the need to explore ways to reduce the divide, spread benefits, and empower the vulnerable. The eTrade for all initiative is a ‘critical first step’ on a long journey. Ms Shamika Sirimanne, Director of the Technology and Logistics Division of UNCTAD, introduced the eTrade for all online platform, as a one-stop shop for the identification of resources to foster inclusive e-commerce in seven key areas.

After the presentation of the platform, several high-level speakers reflected on the tool. H.E. Mr Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister of Commerce of Pakistan, expressed his hope for the democratisation of e-commerce, and he appreciated the platform’s focus on inclusivity, which is ‘the only sustainable path for the future prosperity of e-commerce: e-commerce must embrace everyone’. H.E. Mr Pan Sorasak, Minister of Commerce of Cambodia, provided an example of how Cambodia has benefited from the eTrade for all initiative, especially its e-trade readiness assessment, which identified access to relevant information and awareness of laws and regulation as a key barrier to e-commerce. The online platform can respond to this need.

The interventions by the ministers were followed by the remarks of four ambassadors. H.E. Ms Terhi Hakala, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Finland, reflected on the disruptive nature of ICTs in international trade, and the need for development assistance and capacity building to help developing countries move to e-trade. As current efforts are fragmented, the online platform is a useful tool to pool scattered resources and to coordinate efforts. H.E. Mr Julian Braithwaite, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the UK, added that it is essential to deepen the understanding of the opportunities, challenges, and risks of e-commerce in order to drive forward a multilateral, development-focused e-trade agenda. The online platform serves this objective and fosters policy coherence and operational synergy. H.E. Mr Kyong-Lim Choï, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, stressed that e-commerce cannot grow without consumer trust and confidence, which requires new regulatory frameworks for data protection and security. H.E. Mr Daniel Blockert, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the WTO, praised the platform’s utility in capacity building and assistance to developing countries with an eye on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

A number of the eTrade for all initiative partners went on to talk about their experience in developing the platform. Mr Jean-Baptiste Villaca, Chef de service de la Réglementation du Commerce Electronique, Ivory Coast, shared his expectations of the platform as a collaborative learning space. MrBishar Abdirahman Hussein, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, presented his organisation’s potential to ‘provide a truly inclusive service for every citizen in the world’. DrRatnakar Adhikari, Executive Director of the Enhanced Integrated Framework, stressed the portal’s utility for micro, small, and medium actors, as well as developing countries, to stay up to data about the most recent e-commerce information. Ms Amanda Long, Director General of Consumers International, praised the level of multistakeholder engagement on the platform, which is ‘exactly what is needed to move forward’. Ms Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, regarded the launch of the platform as a sign of the new priority for multistakeholder partnership on the cross-cutting dimensions of e-commerce, and its utility in resolving barriers, whether technological, logistical, or regulatory.

After these interventions, H.E. Ms Susana Malcorra, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Argentina, addressed the room to speak about the relevance of e-commerce for the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December. She considered e-commerce to be an ‘essential part’ of the future of the WTO, and identified its potential to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots, improve gender equality, and to ‘leapfrog into the twenty-first century’. She urged WTO Member States to renew their commitment and mandate the WTO to work on e-commerce.

Malcorra’s address was followed by another set of interventions by the project’s partners. According to Mr Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director of the WTO, the information provided by the platform helps to bring the opportunities of e-commerce within everyone’s reach. Mr Kaspar Korjus, E-Residence Director, Estonia, highlighted the need for the unity of information and integration to the platform, as information is currently ‘everywhere’. Ms Ana B Hinojosa, Director of Compliance and Facilitation at the World Customs Organization, focused on the impact of e-commerce on cross-border transactions of goods. Ms Maria-Rosaria Ceccarelli, Chief Trade Facilitation Section of UNECE, spoke about the need to increase opportunities for developing countries to be plugged into the regional and global supply chain, and about UNECE’s work on simplifying processes, procedures, and information flow.

Ms Susan F Stone, Director of Trade, Investment and Innovation at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), explained how the platform benefits the work of her organisation, and claimed that it does not only put forward e-commerce, but ‘development across the board’. Mr Antonio Estevadeordal, Manager of the Integration and Trade Section of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), spoke about e-commerce challenges in Latin America and the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) ConnectAmericas initiative. Ms Kati Suominen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nextrade Group, spoke on behalf of the Business for eTrade Development programme, which is part of the eTrade for all initiative. She highlighted the role of the private sector, which is often closest to the opportunity and challenges of e-commerce and can help create solutions and optimise policies. Finally, Mr Waleed S Abalkhail, Chairman of TradeKey, emphasised the importance of the business-to-business side of e-commerce.

Ms Kati Suominen, Founder and CEO of Nextrade Group, LLC, started the panel by highlighting the importance of the private sector as the engine of e-commerce. She also called attention to the ‘Business for eTrade development platform’, which is the private sector counterpart of the eTrade for All initiative.

Mr Daniel Crosby, Partner at King and Spalding, explained the priority actions of the business for eTrade development.

Provide business insights on what drives e-commerce for development; the different negotiating positions and what countries want to achieve.

Assess where countries stand in terms of enabling e-commerce and the areas they need to improve.

How to include more business from developing and least developed countries in the initiative.

According to Mr Ralph Carter, Managing Director of Trade and International Affairs, FedEx Express, e-commerce is, at the same time a great equaliser and a great disruptor. It opens global markets, for example, while it disrupts traditional retail, wholesale and distribution industries. Today’s e-commerce has moved from containers to small packets, but the administrative cost of shipping these two different things is almost the same, which is not economically sustainable.

Dialogue and global norms that would create an enabling environment are needed. The priorities for FedEx in the present context are the following: a) the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which should be used to promote e-commerce; b) capacity building related to e-commerce implementation measures; c) Implementing WCO guidelines (e.g. non-dutiable, de minimis, low value goods); d) account-based payment, removed from the border.

Mr M. A. Mannan, President and CEO of TCS Holdings, Pakistan, said that although the private sector will always find a way of making their businesses grow, partnerships between the public and private sectors can be positive. The goals of the public sector and the goals of the private sector seem to be aligned in the discussion of e-commerce. With e-commerce, the private sector is helping the poorer, the women and the SMEs. Governments aim to support these segments of society too. He concluded by suggesting that the 'e' in e-commerce should not relate to 'electronic', but to 'everyone'.

Mr Mostafizur Rahaman Sohel, Director of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, commented on how digital commerce activities empower women. They conduct business through informal channels, such as Facebook, and this is a way towards financial independence. He highlighted some challenges, such as connectivity issues and interoperability of payment systems.

Suominen raised some points for further discussion with regards to how the private sector could help to improve the conditions for e-commerce.

Sharing information (e.g. big data could provide relevant information to customs control, so they become more comfortable with e-commerce).

Help governments on the regulatory reforms they need to make.

Private sector projects that help women, SMEs to engage in e-commerce

Mannan discussed projects that his company has developed to help women engage in e-commerce (e.g. assisting women placing products that they produce in the marketplace in a very simple manner). The company is also fostering women leadership by bringing them into the company and putting them in management positions.

Suominen asked the panellists how the private and public sectors can work together. Sohel gave examples of how the public and private sectors are working together in Bangladesh. Carter cited the example of a project between FedEx and the department of commerce to help small business expand their export profiles to other destinations. He also mentioned that providing data is another kind of collaboration. FedEx provides information to the Word Bank, for example. He also mentioned the Global Alliance for trade facilitation, a public private partnership.

In the questions and answers segment, the idea that the goals of the private sector and the public sector are aligned was questioned by some participants. The downside of giving up on taxation revenues, and the fact that free flow of data benefits large companies, mostly from developed countries, who profit from users’ data were some of the points raised in the discussion.

The session was introduced by H.E. Ms Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom, Pakistan. She started by highlighting the benefits of e-commerce to economic growth, job creation, market expansion and the empowerment of women. She highlighted the importance of the case study ‘Inclusive growth and e-commerce: China's experience’, prepared by AliResearch, which provides an overview of China’s experience on deploying e-commerce, its impact on development, and the lessons learned that could help other developing countries.

Mr Hongbing Gao, Director of AliResearch and Vice President of Alibaba Group, mentioned that e-commerce provides new conditions for global development, as it benefits small companies. Technology has created an opportunity for innovative models, such as the Taobao villages, connected rural areas that have morphed into specialised manufacturers. Owing to the Taobao online marketplace, those villages can now export to the rest of China (as well as abroad in some cases). In a poor area such as the Jiangsu province for instance, Taobao helps farmers to conveniently buy cheaper goods. E-commerce creates employment by supporting micro-entreprises, as well as by creating opportunities for some vulnerable groups, such as the disabled, women, and young people, to become entrepreneurs. On the policy level, the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) aims to promote the inclusive growth of e-commerce.

Ms Marion Jansen, Chief Economist, International Trade Centre (ITC), started by explaining the mission of the ITC, a joint UN-WTO agency based in Geneva, which aims to make trade happen by providing technical assistance, with focus on developing countries. Currently, e-commerce accounts for 12% of trade in goods globally, and it also helps achieve the sustainable development goals and reduce poverty. It does so by closing gender gaps, promoting job creation, innovation, and fostering the deployment of infrastructure, such as e-payment systems. It does not only contribute to trade, but makes trade different: e-commerce lowers the barriers of entry and is less concentrated on traditional players.

Jansen remarked, however, that some barriers still remain, such as difficulties in establishing businesses online, taking part in the international e-payments system, issues with the cross-border delivery and the after-sales relationship with costumers. Divides in information and communications technology (ICT) adoption also exist between small and large enterprises, and the difference is particularly striking in sub-Saharan Africa. There is still a divide when it comes to gender, women are still less active online. The ITC produced a report called ‘Bringing SMEs onto the e-Commerce Highway', which highlights the elements that need to be in place for e-commerce to run smoothly for SMEs, providing a toolkit for policy makers. She mentioned that the ITC also provides capacity building, such as the course, ‘E-commerce for SMEs: an introduction for policy makers’, developed in partnership with DiploFoundation, and a course on Digital Commerce, which is being developed with DiploFoundation, CUTS and UNCTAD, and will be launched at the E-commerce week.

Ms Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD, highlighted that fact that UNCTAD works on the intersection between trade and development, producing measurement and capacity development. The case study by AliResearch is important because it positively shows what can be done.

Mr Peixiao Jia, a former farmer and currently a Chinese entrepreneur, shared the story of how he became successful with e-commerce.

Mr Kibyoung Kim, Director of the Global e-government division of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Korea, started by questioning the replicability of the Alibaba model. Each country is different and needs to find its model. He shared Korea’s experience in fostering economically self-sufficient rural communities of farmers or finishing villages, through e-commerce. Information Network Villages were created and are being expanded into the mobile environment and the cloud.

Khan closed the session by saying that the ICT Infrastructure is the bedrock for any area in the information society, from agriculture to commerce and security. Telecom providers made a contribution to governmental funds, which are being used to connect the unconnected in Pakistan and the goal is to connect small villages and have a broadband penetration by 2020.

The session, moderated by Ms Joy Kategekwa, Head of Regional Office for Africa, UNCTAD, addressed the challenges, opportunities, and trends of e-commerce on the African continent, with emphasis on participation in global value chains, entrepreneurship, enabling frameworks, and regulatory developments.

H.E. Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria, started the discussion by distinguishing between e-commerce as a World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiation issue, and e-commerce in the context of the digital economy. It is the latter that provides the bigger picture, including opportunities for developing countries, job creation, transparency increase and venture capital. The restricted lens of WTO negotiations can limit engagement with the overall changes in the global economy, including transformations in policy, technology and domestic politics. He pointed to a McKinsey study estimating an investment of over one billion dollars in e-commerce in Africa in 2017 and 2018, but warned about the difficulties with spectrum management, the liberalisation of the telecommunications market, as well as competition law.

Dr Francois Ngarambe, Ambassador of Rwanda to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the UN, WTO and other International Organisations in Geneva, provided concrete examples from the measures taken by his government to make ICT a true enabler of economic development. Among these is the commitment to have full broadband coverage across the country by 2020, but also to focus on digital literacy and digital education for all. To achieve this vision, a set of institutions was set in place. The ministries complement each other at the policy, regulatory, and implementation level and coordinate extensively. The Ministry for Youth and ICT is such an example, in charge of proposing policies to the government on issues that are strongly interlinked.

The next speaker, Ms Wendy Eitan, E-Commerce and Physical Services Coodinator, Universal Postal Union (UPU), introduced the work of her organisation and their priorities in the digital economy. The UPU has 192 member countries, but it is one of the smallest UN agencies. It plays a key role in the delivery of goods, and it is thus crucial for e-commerce, which has recently been placed at the top of their agenda. In rethinking infrastructure and services, their three main focuses are:

working with member countries on a regional level to improve infrastructure

easy export services, facilitating trade for SMEs and to help them access the global market

ecom@Africa – one integrated programme for Africa in co-operation with national governments. The programme was launched in Tunisia recently and will be expanded.

Providing a perspective from the private sector, Ms Candace Nkoth-Bisseck, Country Director, Jumia Market, Cameroon, highlighted the limitations and difficulties of implementing e-commerce in African countries. First, digital literacy generally does not include a business component; while people may be ready to use social media platforms, it takes much longer for them to learn how to use the Internet for their community or for business purposes. Second, logistics pose a main problem in Africa: locating the customer when there is no fixed address system is rather difficult and expensive (phone calls at different stages of the process). Some innovative solutions for geolocation (e.g. what3words, Google maps) provide alternatives, but have not yet been widely deployed. Third, cross-country transactions are still cumbersome, due to a lack of harmonised regulation in the trade of goods and difficulties in operating financial services.

A second business view was introduced by Mr Leonard Stiegeler, General Manager, Ringier Africa. His company works in 10 African countries on developing online market places (for cars, property, jobs, etc.) in co-operation with local SMEs, news and media platforms, as well as digital services to run e-commerce set-ups for companies that want to sell to and/or out of Africa. Outlining what needs to be done to further enhance e-commerce on the continent, Stiegeler pointed to the need to address informal retail, facilitate payments via mobile transactions and use the Internet to produce, buy and sell on demand. He cited the estimates of the McKinsey Global Institute of a total of 75 billion dollars put into the e-commerce economy in Africa by 2025, ten times bigger than in 2015.

Working extensively on entrepreneurship in African countries, representatives of UNCTAD contributed to the panel discussion by highlighting their efforts in entrepreneurship and a cohesive development across sectors. UNCTAD operates 20 centres for entrepreneurship on the continent, driving job seekers to become job creators and innovators. There are more than 200 innovation hubs in Africa. Among the best ones of these are those that combine a physical space (often an open space for networking and co-creation) with mentorship schemes and a safety net for failures. Yet they rarely include training facilities. Mr Dominique Chantrel, TrainForTrade Programme, UNCTAD, outlined their capacity building work on e-commerce in Africa, including a project that was recently completed in eight West African countries, including both face-to-face and online learning.

The session concluded with a Q&A. Alongside the input from a Senegalese government representative on developments taking place at the national level, questions were raised about the ways to formalise the informal sector and how to create adaptive regulation. The moderator concluded the panel by summarising the plethora of opportunities brought about by e-commerce, in addition to the potential to propel a manufacturing trajectory in Africa.

This session addressed the role of data flows in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as potential policies enacted by international organisations and governments to ensure data flows promote development.

Ms Christine Bliss, President of the Coalition of Services Industries, began the discussion by providing statistics about the tremendous growth of e-commerce. She gave background information explaining the proliferation of cross-border data flows due to the increased popularity of mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT), and other technologies. According to a study by McKinsey, the Internet contributed to 21% of GDP growth in the 13 largest world economies from 2007 to 2011, and by 2025, half of all economic value will be created digitally. Adoption of digital commerce is especially important for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which are the backbone of developing economies. According to Bliss, cloud storage is particularly important because it can 'close the digital divide' between the developing and developed world, and democratise access to information. Bliss finished her introduction by citing examples of good data flow policies in Cambodia, which encourage innovation, versus bad data flow policies in Indonesia and Vietnam, which stifle innovation by enforcing data localisation requirements.

The discussion then moved to individual statements from panelists. Mr Gustavo Hector Méndez, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the WTO, discussed his view on the new regulatory framework that should be provided by organisations such as the WTO to promote sustainable e-commerce. He argued that multilateral agreements such as General Agreements on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) within the WTO can ensure that developing countries are on a level playing-field with the developed world when it comes to data flow.

Mr Felipe Sandoval, Fellow of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), added that the interests of private industry and government are not always aligned when it comes to data flows. This divergence is particularly noticeable in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), which involve differing legal frameworks and market liberalisations between developing and developed countries. He argued that developing countries seeking trade deals must have strong domestic regulatory frameworks that can encourage data innovation. Likewise, developing countries can use this need for a legal framework as leverage in trade negotiations, essentially saying, 'yes, we will liberalise our markets, but only if you help us with capacity development'.

Mr David Weller, Head of Global Trade Policy at Google, gave the industry’s perspective about the role of data flows in trade. He walked through four main trade obstacles that the Internet has addressed: language, distance, resources, and disregard for rules. Machine translation services such as Google Translate, targeted advertising to potential customers around the world, big data analysis with minimal infrastructure, and data-based mechanisms for accountability have all addressed these four traditional challenges to trade.

The panelists then answered questions from Bliss and the audience. They discussed tangible examples of digital technology achieving the SDGs, such as the increased relevance of online education, but reminded everyone that four billion people in the world still lack Internet access. Likewise, discussions about proper regulatory frameworks highlighted the potential drawbacks of a one-size fits all model, although the role of multilateral arrangements was still appreciated. There was particular concern that by enforcing data flow rules from a top-down approach such as through the WTO, the needs of individual developing countries would be ignored, and therefore new standards must not restrict economically-beneficial data flows for developing nations.

Other resources

The toolkit provides an overview of the telecommunications and Internet industry landscape in Africa, and outlines a number of policy issues tot be considered by policy makers when working on regulations and policies related to the Internet.

The document looks into the opportunities that e-commerce can bring to small and medium-size enterprises in developing countries, and analyses the barriers that restricts SMEs from making fuller use of such opportunities.

The document, which constitutes a response from the European Digital Rights organisation to an European Commission questionnaire, explores a number of issues related to the European Union E-Commerce Directive, especially with regard to the liability of Internet intermediaries (notice and take down systems, monitoring and filtering obligations, the liability regime for hyperlinks, etc.).

It was also stressed that e-commerce has the potential to reduce costs for SMEs and integrate small economies into the international trade system, and that innovation is a key factor in strengthening e-commerce. Panellists in New Frameworks for Policy Experimentation Fostering ICT4D (session 134) said that innovation is the missing link between the analogue and the digital economies. SMEs and the middle class of communities can disappear if local regulations do not promote a good balance between local-global players and analogue-digital businesses.

In a session dedicated to the postal network - Putting Public Assets to Work (session 159 ) - panellists highlighted the work that several UN organisations - including the ITU, the WTO, UNCTAD, and the UPU - as well as many other entities, are undertaking in the area of e-commerce, with the aim of encouraging economic development.

IGF 2015 Report

During this year’s IGF, economy-related topics were often linked to novel economic dynamics of the Internet industry. One of them was Internet Plus – described during ‘Internet Plus’ to Fuel Industry Evolution (WS 110) – as a model that integrated mobile Internet, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things, with the aim of scaling for production and creating smart factories. The more ubiquitous platforms for mobile payments (WS 56) also boosted the Internet economy.

Developments in the digital economy also have consequences on employment. Digital Economy, Jobs and Multistakeholder Practices (WS 29) discussed the short-term phenomenon of job losses due to automation, which is believed will be offset by the job-creating impact of innovation in the long term.

One particular view on taxation was that it was considered a hindrance to access. A typical example offered by a Facebook representative during Revenue Streams that Grow & Sustain Internet Economies (WS 241) was that of connectivity taxes: import duties, sales taxes of devices and sales taxes on the purchase of data plans are being imposed at various points in the value chain between a user buying a device and actually being able to use it. ‘Typically, you tax things you want less of. If you want more connectivity and you’re imposing additional taxes, or you want more affordability and you’re imposing additional taxes, that’s a hindrance, not something that helps to facilitate what you’re trying to achieve.’

The discussion on the Internet economy also looked at the development aspect, which was the topic of a number of workshops. With reference to taxation and developing countries, a panellist in Economics of the Global Internet (WS 207), said that despite the economic benefits of accessing ICTs, this did not mean that taxation was not required, but that a more balanced fiscal policy was needed.

In How to Bridge the Global Internet Economy Divide (WS 97), a Google representative anchored the discussion to geographical realities: ‘Both regions have challenges, but slightly different. In Europe it’s about scaling and in Africa it is more about access.’ The main challenge, therefore – as suggested in the main session on Internet Economy and Sustainable Development – was how to narrow the divide and empower developing countries. Additionally, we need to tap in to the potential of the Internet economy as a social and economic equaliser.

Notwithstanding, an important interplay between three areas of digital policy – cybersecurity, human rights, and Internet business – is unfolding. In the workshop bearing the same name, panellists discussed this interplay which has had a large impact on a wide range of social issues, citing as an example the current migration crisis to demonstrate the dynamics of the ‘triangle’. As the diagram presented during the workshop illustrated, this interplay deeply permeates other aspects of digital policy.

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